On what are you basing your confidence?

God repeats this phrase throughout the Old Testament when he asks his people why they fell? 'Why did you get distracted? What made you put your hope in that? Why did you put all your eggs in that basket?' Ok, not a direct quote, but this is a big deal! Where are we putting our confidence?

In the last couple days I have noticed that my confidence was misplaced. Today I caught myself feeling useless, inadequate, unskilled...I felt lack of confidence. Then I realized I have definitely had confidence, but I have put it in all the wrong places. This is my confession.

It turns out that when we misplace our confidence, we also misplace our hope and a bunch of other things...like our hearts, or our brains. Call it addiction, idolatry, pursuits...but no matter what, I would ask you to locate your confidence! Take an inventory: what do you hope in each morning when the sun shimmies its way through your blinds? And what confidences do you kiss goodnight until you can return to them in the mornings?
(Ok sorry, not trying to preach, just some thoughts)

On another note:
Thursday we began our homestay - each intern has been welcomed into the home of various Peruvian friends for a few days. My family is wonderful! I have a mom and a brother and sister... also a man who I've never met, but he lives in our house? My sister says it's ok :) Today we had a normal schedule as far as classes go, but tomorrow we will be living the life of a Peruvian. I will shadow my mom, Adela, as we wake up tomorrow morning at 4:30am to buy and prepare vegetables to sell at the market. I will let you know what I learn from this wonderful experience. How many people get to do this on the weekends???

"The good news is..."

Sometimes I like to start my sentences with this statement: "The good news is..." even when there is seemingly no good news at all. It forces positive thought and thanksgiving.

Last night we had a "PJ party" or "una piajama" as the Peruvians call it. GIRLS ONLY party: we sang karaoke and danced the night away. Singing and dancing interwoven with laughter, I saw the beautiful family of God in the wee hours of the morning as I listened to the voices of my sisters in Christ. Those of you who know me might know that singing is not exactly my forté...I get shy to open my mouth in a song. The good news is: my sisters in Christ could care less about my pitch or tone: forgetting talent level and language barriers, we are in sweet harmony because of our King.

This morning myself and my co-interns went sight seeing with one of our good Peruvian friends Emilia. We saw views that would prove my camera to be a fool in any attempt to capture them: volcanoes, rivers, skies, natives, clear springs, airs, heights, depths, distances. While my camera would never do these sights justice, today it didn't even have a chance...yep, I brought my camera case on our journey. CASE haha, void of any camera, however. The good news is: now I must go back to all these places to be reminded like I was today - how great is our God?

After our exciting travels this morning, we attended house church at Alfredo's house. Alfredo is a member of the church, and he is also my language teacher. We had never been to his house before, but when his dog, "Nacho" came running out the door, I knew we had found our meeting place today (he told me about Nacho in class previously). As Gerina and I left Alfredo's house, we began to make plans to get back to our house. We waited for a "combi," which is like a public bus, but then we started walking toward our house because it was getting dark. With the help of Parker's directions, we found ourselves in a part of town where we had never been. Not only were we lost, but when I asked for directions to la Calle San Juan de la Luna, none of the natives recognized this location??? We both began to get frustrated...eventually we found a taxi who thought he (might) know where our house was, and we got in. One of the richest parts of this experience so far has been adjusting to everything new. Seriously, nothing about life here is the same as my life I lived in the States just a few weeks ago. The good news is: my God is still the same. Pastures will change, but your Shepherd remains the same.

I could probably think of 1,000 pieces of good news...Can you think of any?

In our culture classes, Greg McKinzie has been walking us through figuring out what our gospel is. Is this gospel universal or does it change between cultures? Should the gospel change or only its presentation? It has been so interesting to dive into these concepts: not only foreign mission work, but even more so, the purpose of a believer: to share the good news!

About 2 weeks in, and LOVING it!

I wish I could express all that has happened in my time here so far. I find myself very busy, and when there is time to write on the blog I am at a loss for words.
The experience so far has been rich. We attend language and culture classes each day during the week. My mind is being stimulated in ways never known before. I assume I can't think of anything profound to say at this time because I have yet to understand what I am being taught.
I am thoroughly enjoying Spanish classes and I can see significant improvement in my speaking skills. One of our fellow interns, Lisette, left this past Saturday for 3 weeks. The other interns: myself, Gerina, Parker, Arielle & Aron have been continuing life here as normal, but we are excited for her to come back! One of the things I have enjoyed most so far in my time here is being part of a team. The body of Christ is more tangible to me here. The relationships we have here are so interwoven and intimate that it gives me a closeup of what the body of Christ (the church) looks like.
I will try to be better about updating the blog as I know some of you are eager to know what is going on here. However, you may not find out what you expecting to learn from me. Usually when people go on mission trips they have consistent reports for what they have done or projects they have completed. This "mission" is more of an internship, with emphasis being put on learning rather than doing. We are learning to BE missionaries rather than DO mission work. I am so thankful for our mentors who guide us in practice and reflection, practice and reflection...it is a constant cycle.
The thing about short term missions is that if you never go, you'll never go back. God is opening my eyes to new possibilities in the future. If you are praying for me, you could ask God to give me courage to follow where He is leading.
Thanks for your support. I appreciate you, and I need you the same way you need me: we are the body of Christ!

After 6 days in South America:

I feel I have fallen behind in my blogging attempts to keep you all posted. My time spent here so far has been busy in a cross-cultural sort of way. Our first weekend here we spent a lot of time getting to know the rest of the mission team and the members of the house churches here. Instead of meeting as one formal institution the missionaries have helped locals form 4 house churches in the city. My house church happens to be made up of mostly women, and we spend our time fellowshipping, singing, sharing our testimonies, and praying....at least this was our experience this past Sunday.

Team Arequipa, which I am so blessed to be joining this summer, is a good example of a self-sustaining mission. Even though I have only been here for 6 days, I have seen multiple projects in which the missionaries are involved. Some of these projects include: library program, Café Connection, and language lessons to name a few. I am loving the objective of holistic missions set up here in the White City of Arequipa, Peru.

Yesterday we began our language classes and today we had our first cultural class. We will be attending these classes multiple times per week. I am so thankful for what the missionaries have prepared to guide us in our learning and understanding of cross-cultural ministry. Obviously we will not fully understand all the adjustments and hardships they have endured in their (almost) 6 years spent here in Peru, but they are encouraging us to be thoughtful and intentional in the way we spend our time here this summer. I cannot wait to share the things they are teaching us!

I am so thankful to say that the interns and the missionaries all seem to get along wonderfully so far. I'm sure we will grow tired of each other at some point, but I couldn't be more excited to learn from, and with, this particular group.

First looks

 The above and below are the views from our rooftop. This is a beautiful place for laughter and silence alike. 

My co-intern, Gerina, caught me stretching one morning. The mornings are clear and fresh here. 

Myself and the other two girl interns (Parker is missing) with our new friend from the ladies day at Café Connection.

Day 1: Let the adventure begin!

After traveling for about 24 hours total, we have finally arrived at Kyle Smith's house in Arequipa, Peru. I find myself smiling just being here, there is no doubt this is where I belong for now. Today we are resting and getting acclimated to our surroundings. Tomorrow the real work begins...not sure what that means yet, but you will learn details as I do. Thank you for your prayers and support to help me get here, and thanks to God for giving us all far more than we need or deserve.