Bureaucracy and Birthdays

This past week has seen us spending a lot of time doing paperwork.  My tourist visa is set to expire, so it was time to do something about it. We had been dreading doing it, since we know that paperwork in Peru can be tedious, to say the least.  But a couple of weeks ago we finally started the process.  I looked it up online and thought that I had assembled all of the required paperwork.  But it turns out that we needed a few extra documents because of technicalities.  For example, my passport has my married name, while my marriage certificate has my maiden name.  So they asked me for a document certifying that I am the same person.  Last Friday I went to the US embassy to get that done.  We returned to immigration hoping to complete the application, but were informed that we still needed one more stamp from a different office before we could turn everything in.  So that meant another trip into Lima, and another day of doing paperwork.  All the offices where we needed to do our paperwork are about an hour from our house, down in the center of Lima.  So each time we were required to present more papers, it meant another day spent traveling into town, standing in lines, and lots of waiting.  After going in to Lima three days in a row, we finally had all the required documents, and were able to turn in my application.  Now I am just waiting to be called back in to receive my residency so that I can live legally in the country.  What a relief to have that done.  We praise the Lord for helping us to get it all sorted out.  Now we plan on taking a little break from Peruvian bureaucracy before diving back in to try to get our Peruvian driver's licences.  That should be a whole new adventure. 

Since I don't have any pictures of our time spent standing in line, and since I always like to include a picture with my blog posts, I thought I would include some photos of Diego.  He celebrated his 9th birthday this past week.  We have a tradition in our family that I try to make and decorate whatever type of cake design the kids ask for.  I don't consider myself especially artsy or crafty, so this is the peak of my creativity.  But I enjoy doing it, because they have fun picking things out and challenging me to make them.  Diego loves playing soccer and for now his favorite team is Real Madrid from Spain.  So I made a soccer jersey cake and a soccer ball for him. 

A view of the cakes from the front

The back of the cakes

Diego blowing out his candles (with a little help from Josh)

Tomorrow

About 2 weeks ago, we came home from running errands and discovered that our patio was wet.  We followed the source of the water and found it to be coming from a small storage room off of the patio.  That storage room was packed from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall.  While my parents were here, they had helped us to move all of the owner's stuff out of the house and into that storage space.  Now there was a leak somewhere in there.  I was immediately discouraged and started worrying.  Thoughts of all the work and problems that awaited us ran through my head...Unpacking the room, water damage to the boxes, finding the leak, perhaps having to break through some walls, paying to have it repaired, repacking the room.  How would we ever do it?  Since it was late and there is no light out on our patio, we decided to just shut off the water to the house and leave it for the morning.  I went to bed with a sick feeling in my stomach.  I knew that God had told me not to worry about tomorrow, but I was already dreading what a terrible day it would be. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Matt. 6:34

The next morning, we unpacked all the boxes.  It only took us about an hour and to my relief, the boxes that had been on the bottom were full of things that didn't get ruined by the water.  I could check water damage off my list of worries.  When we finally got the room empty we saw that the water was coming from an exposed pipe that had a cap on it to close it off (I'm not a plumber, so I don't know the technical terms).  The cap had simply cracked and water was leaking out.  It was a simple, quick and very inexpensive fix.  No tearing down walls or anything.  Several more of my worries from the day before had evaporated.  Finally, what were we to do with all of the owner's stuff, especially since several of the boxes were now water logged?  When we called them, they amazingly had some time available and were able to come and sort through all of their boxes.  They ended up leaving only about 10 boxes in storage here and they even packed them all away themselves.  So my greatest worry, how to fit all those boxes back in that tiny storage room, was completely relieved.  Then I praised God for how good he is.  Sometimes he lets "bad" things happen, but in reality good comes out of them.  We may have never imagined or expected it, but God knows the future.  We obviously don't.  




This is all that is left in storage.  What a
relief!  You can see the pipe that had broken
on the right hand side of the picture where the
 white paint meets the cement.

 That experience was a huge object lesson for me that we don't need to worry about tomorrow (or any of the days thereafter) because God has them all in his hand.  We may be dreading bad things, when really good is coming.  We just need to keep trusting him and walking with him.  I was encouraged by Isaiah 41:13 that says:

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  

Whatever we may see looming on the horizon of our lives, we do not have to fear.  God is holding us by the hand and walking with us.  He promises to help us.  Wow!  That is amazing to me.  Thank you Jesus.  I pray that God will be encouraging all of us as we walk into our futures with him one day at a time. 

We're still here

I apologize for the long time since my last post.  I can't believe how time is flying.  We moved in about 2 months ago, and it has been the longest "moving in" that I have ever experienced.  The house is kind of a "fixer upper" in the sense that it isn't completely finished being built.  We have installed a door, put in light fixtures, repaired plumbing, painted rooms and a variety of other jobs.  In addition to this, the house was also full of the owner's things, which we had to move out before we could start moving ourselves in.  My parents were here for a few weeks in January and even with their full time help, we weren't completely moved in by the time they left.  But things have settled down now, and we are back to school and working in the small churches up the mountain.  I will do my best to be more regular about updating the blog, so please check back again so we can keep in touch. 

I just thought I'd share a few pictures of our house and vehicle, so that you could imagine us here a little better.

Here is the front entrance to the house.



This is our 15 passenger van.  It is a bit old,
but we enjoy it because there is plenty of room for us all,
plus any guests that we may have.  It is also much
easier than traveling in a taxi. 




This is the peaceful view out my kitchen window. 
This is our back yard and park area behind our house. 

 Thank you for your continued prayers for us.  We are asking the Lord to guide us clearly in what He would have us be doing at this time. 

Tupicocha

Last weekend Junior had the chance to go up into the mountains for 3 days with a team of 12 people comprised of members from some of the nearby churches and a group of doctors. 



A boy they met on the way up the mountain.  
The group stopped and visited with him. 



 They had the opportunity to give some health advice and to throw Christmas parties for the children.  They stopped in 4 villages before ending up in a town called Tupicocha. 

One of the orphan girls in Tupicocha who received

her Christmas gift.

He came back with many stories from the people he met.  Here are a few pictures that show what the area is like.  It is up in the mountains about 5 hours from Lima.  The people are very poor and there is a lot of need.   But they are also very generous and so grateful for anything that you can do to help them.  This is one of the areas where we would like to work in evangelizism and discipleship, but ask for God's guidance and wisdom as to how best to go about it.  Please pray that God will open doors in supernatural ways, because the need is so overwhelming it is hard to know where to start. 



A Christmas party for the children





Junior and Pastor David with the children who have come
to Tupicocha from the surrounding villages
for the Christmas party.



God is Good!

Thank you all for your prayers.  It has been a busy few months and in the last week, things got even busier.  We have been praying and waiting for a place to live and for a car, and in one day God answered both of those prayers.  A missionary family offered to rent us their house, since they are not living in the area.  The house is great for our family for several reasons.  It is on the outskirts of Lima in a town called Chaclacayo, which puts us closer to the communities where we are working.  It is also in a very safe neighborhood, with lots of parks and even a swimming pool.  It is a great place for the kids.  Finally, the rent is much more affordable than any other place we could find.  We have been waiting to move in, since there was another family living there.  Thankfully they moved out, and we received word that we could move in on the 20th of December, just in time for Christmas.  That same day, some other missionary friends offered to lend us their car, since they will be gone for the next year.  It is a 15 passenger van, so we have plenty of room for the whole family.  God is so good.  We are so grateful to him and marvel as we see him answering prayers.    It truly is amazing to watch his plans unfold and to see his perfect timing. 

So the last few days have been spent unpacking boxes and trying to get settled in.  We still have a ways to go, but we are starting to feel at home already.  We praise the Lord for his answers. 



Moving in!

 Thank you for your continued prayers for our family as we seek God's guidance in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  May God give you all a wonderful season as we rejoice in Him. 



We were so happy to be able to move into our new house
just in time to set up our Christmas tree before Christmas.



Christmas hugs from our family to yours!

This year we will get to have two Christmas celebrations.  We will celebrate on the 24th with Junior's family.  The Peruvian tradition is to stay up until midnight on the 24th and have a big turkey dinner and open presents.  Then my parents come on the first of January, so we will have another Christmas celebration with them.  We are very blessed and looking forward to spending time with our families. 

Back in Peru



Here is our suitcase full of school books that
my parents brought down in August when
they came.  We weren't able to see them
but appreciate the special delivery.

 Thanks so much for your prayers during the last month.  We bid farewell to Chile and our new friends there, and started out on the bus trip back to Peru.  We were thankful to make the journey safely to Peru in only 3 1/2 days.  The trip went a little smoother than on the way down to Chile, probably because we had a better idea of what to expect.  But we were all greatly relieved to have the bus ride behind us.  We spent two weeks in Lima recovering from the trip, settling back in, and getting organized and ready to start a new school year.  Then we climbed on another bus, but this time to go up to the mountain town of Huanuco, Peru, which is where I grew up.  It is only a 9 hour bus trip from Lima, which seemed short after what we had just finished.  We spent a few days up there enjoying friends, relaxation, beautiful weather and a lovely place to stay.


The beautiful center in Huanuco where we stayed. 
This is where I went to school for many years.


 Now we are back in Lima, and have started our new school year.  The kids are excited about the interesting books we get to read and are doing a great job so far.  We are still praying for God's guidance during this time.  For now we are staying with Junior's family, but are praying for a place of our own.  Some friends have offered to rent us their house, since they are living out of the area, but it is currently being rented until December.  We are encouraged by the possibility of living there, since it would be a good location for our work in the mountains.  We will keep you posted.  We are asking God to open other doors before December if he has something else in mind for us. 

The kids enjoyed the swingset....

 We have also tried to go see several cars for sale, but each time something comes up to stop us from going, whether the car sells before we get there, or the people cancel due to illness, etc.  So we feel that for some reason God is asking us to wait on buying a car.  We just pray that in his time, and in his way he will provide one for us.  It is all the waiting that is hard, however.  At times we wonder how long we will have to wait.  We want to get settled and get to work.  But it seems that it isn't God's time yet.  He reminded me the other day that He isn't as interested in what we are doing for him, as he is interested in our heart. 

...and climbing trees.

I was challenged to consider my attitude during this time of waiting.  Is it pleasing to God?  We may look good on the outside, or appear to be serving the Lord, but what is really going on inside of us?  I must confess I have been struggling with a grumbling heart, and a bit of discouragement.  We just spent 6 months focusing on our relationship with God.  Shouldn't it be time to start working?  But God obviously has more he wants us to learn first.  So I ask him to give me a thankful heart, for whatever situation he has put  me in.  I marvel at Paul being able to say in Philippians that he has "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation."  (Phil. 4:12)  Because sometimes I don't feel so content when things don't seem to be working out quite as I imagined they would.  But I felt God teaching me that the secret to that contentment isn't in my external situation.  The secret isn't in having everything go smoothly.  The secret is in my relationship with him.  If I am with God, "I can do everything, through him who gives me strength."  (Phil. 4:13)  Through my relationship with God, I can rejoice in who He is,  in who I am in Him.  The rest of the stuff isn't really so important.  Of course it is nice to be comfortable, don't get me wrong, but even when I'm not, God is still the same.  He still sent his son to die for me.  He is still reaching out to me.  So I have no need to be discouraged or to doubt him.  I just need to focus on Him and not my circumstances.  So God graciously gave me this verse to encourage me.  "I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."  Psalm 27:13-14.  I praise God for his goodness.