Back to School

Most people started back to school several weeks ago.  We weren't able to.  For the last few weeks we have been busy trying to get our school books out of customs so that we could begin the school year.  We ordered our books and had them shipped here from the US, but due to a variety of complications we couldn't get them out of customs.  The most unique of the problems we encountered was that you can't import maps of Peru into the country without special government permission.  That is a rule that I knew nothing about.  So while we ran around town trying to get the necessary documents, and making phone calls, the days ticked by. 

We had hoped to start school about the same time as people in the US, so we were extremely discouraged by not being able to get our books.  The red tape they were requiring of us and the inefficiency of the system was so frustrating.  I couldn't understand why God was letting this happen.  What could possible be the point of having our books held up in customs for 3 weeks?  Who benefits from that?  As I talked to others, however, I realized that my problems, as frustrating as they are, really are trivial.  The world will not end if we start school a few weeks after everyone else.   Things don't always have to go according to my schedule.   Life will go on, and we will survive.  Here in Peru, they have a much more laid back approach to schedules and time lines.  Things will happen when they happen.  For example, one of the major roadways (I hesitate to call it a highway) from Lima to the interior of the country is closed for renovation.  It has been closed for a year, and in the meantime, the traffic is detoured through side streets and residential neighborhoods.  In America, no one would have approved this slow construction time or this inconvenience to traffic and residents alike.  But what can people here do?  There really isn't much to be done, but just to live through it.  As an American, I feel like I should have certain rights.  I have the right to good customer service, efficiency, being treated with respect, a certain degree of convenience.  But in the rest of the world, things don't always work that way.  Things don't always go the way you think they should.  I'm not saying that we should all just kick back and let life go by as it will.  But it just serves to remind me that even when I can't control the situation, there is someone who is in control.  There is a master schedule for all of our lives, and while things may frustrate us, "set us back", or detour us from what we had planned, in the end we have the assurance of knowing that none of it is happening by chance.  We know that there is a God who loves us and is ordering our lives.  He has our best in mind.  So we can rest in him, wait on him, and let him fight our battles.  Sometimes we just have to accept what He gives us, even though it isn't what we would have asked for. 

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."  Pr. 16:9

I praise the Lord because he sees the bigger picture, and he knows the end of the story.  I know that I can trust in him in all things.  God is good ALL the time.

Well, this story does have a happy ending.  Last week we finally went down to customs ourselves and did all of the paperwork in one day.  Thanks to the Lord we got our books and this week we started back to school.

Celebrating "Box Day".  Thank you Lord for
helping us get our school books

Diego is happy to be in fourth grade and also enjoys playing soccer.

Lucas is starting second grade and just lost his front tooth.

Joshua is very excited to finally be in Kindergarten.

Jonathan is two and loves playing with his tiger.

Alexis is in sixth grade and now has a heavier workload.

A Surprise Party!

This week I celebrated my birthday.  I had a lovely day because I was able to talk to many of my friends and family around the world.  Just as the day was winding down and I was getting my kids ready for bed, I got a call from Junior.  He had gone up to the church in Corcona for the Wednesday night church service.  He told me that he would soon be arriving home with a group from the church.  Although I don't usually go up to Corcona for the Wednesday night service (since it is late and difficult for the kids), they had gotten word that it was my birthday and had prepared me a special meal.  They were disappointed to find that I hadn't come up for church, so they decided to come home with Junior and help me celebrate.  About 9:30 PM they arrived here with food and a birthday cake.  It was a wonderful surprise.  It made me feel so honored that they would be willing to drive one hour down the mountain to help me celebrate my birthday practically in the middle of the night.  After singing, sharing, eating and praying together, they all headed home about 11:30.  It was a long day, but a great chance to spend some time getting to know the members of the church better.  So I thank the Lord for their big hearts, their flexibility and their kindness. 

These kids came along and sang me a special song.

Here I am with some of the members of the church. 

School's Out!

We are now officially on summer break.  We finished school about 3 weeks ago, and the kids are enjoying a little time off from the books.  Although we all enjoy school (some days more than others), it is also nice to have a little change from our regular schedule.  This has given us some time to watch a bit of the olympics, and play a lot of soccer.  We are also planning to go on some field trips during the summer, since we didn't have any official outings during the school year.  So yesterday we went with some friends to a place called MiniMundo (Mini World).  It has small models of different places from around Peru.  It reminded me of the little cities at Legoland, except that the models weren't made out of legos.  The kids especially enjoyed it because there was also a playground and a trampoline to jump on there. 

Here we are in front of the model of Machu Picchu. 
Hopefully we can visit the real one some day as well.

Jonathan is enjoying the rainforest village,
complete with real fish in the river.

The summer is also the time to start thinking about next school year.  After looking into some of the options for schools around here, we have decided that homeschooling is still the best option for us (and the cheapest).  So we are getting ready to order our books for next year.  We wanted to give you all the chance to be involved with us if you feel led to do that.  Our school books this year are going to cost a bit more than usual, but we also will have 4 kids in school this year for the first time.  Josh will be starting Kindergarten.  So the books themselves will be $1,300 for all four kids.  On top of that we have to pay for them to be shipped all the way here to Peru, and that is going to cost $400.  There are three ways you can help.  You can pray with us for God's provision for this need.   Secondly, you could partner with us by helping to pay for some of the books.  Or, if you are planning a trip to Peru anytime soon (and don't need to bring much luggage) you could bring the books for us which would save us the shipping charges.  If anyone does plan to come for a visit, we would be more than happy to be your hosts, guides, or whatever you may need.  So thank you all for your prayers and your support of us.  If you have any questions, you can write us at vegafamily7@hotmail.com.  We are trusting in God and know that he is faithful to supply all our needs.   God bless you.

Feliz 28 de Julio!

Today is Peru's Independence day.  Just like America has the 4th of July, here in Peru they celebrate the 28th of July.  They celebrate with lots of parades and flags proudly flying.  So in honor of the 28th of July we made a special cake to enjoy.  It is called tres leches (which means 3 milks).  It is a typical peruvian cake soaked in a mixture of three milks.  To make it even more fitting for the day, we decorated it with strawberries in the colors of the Peruvian flag. 




Peruvian flag tres leches cake

Happy 28 de julio!



AWANA

We have been praying for our children to be able to find good friends here in Peru.  One of the ways that God is answering that prayer is by giving us the opportunity to participate in AWANA.  In the United States our kids had gone to AWANA for several years and greatly enjoyed it.  A few months ago, we started going to AWANA here in Lima.  The missionary school that I graduated from (many years ago) does an AWANA program on Friday afternoons.  They were very welcoming and allowed us to join in with them.  The kids love going every week.  They are so motivated to learn their Bible verses and enjoy the game time and making new friends with other missionary kids.  So that is a huge praise for us.  Although we only joined the program a few months before the end of the school year, the kids worked really hard and each of them finished their books and got an award.  We are so proud of them.  I'm sorry the pictures aren't very good.  I am no photographer, but I inluded them, since bad pictures are more interesting than no pictures at all.

Lucas is the first red vest on the left.

Diego is the one in the middle.

Alexis is getting her reward on the far right.

Another huge praise that goes along with AWANA, is that the missionary school has also agreed to let us use their library.  It isn't huge, but it has many good books that my kids have never read.  So it is also a fun treat to be able to go to the library each week.  We love reading!

Thanks!

Thank you for your prayers for the discipleship course in Corcona.  Junior finished teaching the course about 2 weeks ago and it was a blessing to everyone involved.  There was a group of 6 regular attendees that met together on Wednesday evenings before the Wednesday night service.  The course dealt with basics such as time alone with God, obedience, attributes of God, temptation and other fundamentals of the Christian walk.  During the week each student was assigned a daily reading passage and some questions.  On Wednesdays they would discuss the questions they had worked through.  Although they aren't accustomed to this type of study, they put in the effort and did a great job.  They are very eager to learn anything they can.   Now we are praying about what course we could study next.

Go to my Father

This Father's Day I have been thinking a lot about God as our Father.  I thank the Lord for giving me a godly father, a godly husband to be a father to our children, and I pray that our boys will grow up to be godly fathers in their turn.  But the ultimate father to us all is God.  For the first time in my life that I can recall, I wished God a Happy Father's Day.  I thank him for being a father to each one of us.  The familiar story of the prodigal son is only one example from the Bible showing God's fatherly heart toward us.  He loves us with a perfect love, and longs for us to be his children.  He waits patiently for us.  The problem arises in that we often don't want to be his children.  It isn't convenient to obey him, we are too busy to bother talking to him today, we don't want to involve him in our plans.  But all the while his heart is simply for us to come to him as children.  He wants to wrap his arms around us as the father did when his prodigal son came home.  He enjoys hearing us laugh, just as earthly fathers love the giggles of their young children.  He wants to be involved in our plans, our struggles, our daily lives.  In some ways I think that we can all be a bit of spiritual prodigal sons.  We may not take our inheritance and head to a foreign land, but in our hearts we all wander off on our own at times and need to say as that prodigal did, "I will arise and go to my father."  There is no better place for us.  There is no better response.  So on this Father's Day, I want to cherish being His child.  I want to rest in the trust that my Abba Father is taking care of everything.  I don't have to solve all the problems on my own.  I don't have to have all the answers.  I just need to sit on his knee in childlike trust.  I just need to obey my Father.  "I will arise and go to my Father."