shes almost regrouped

the past couple of weeks have been in such contrast to one another. in so many ways, but perhaps an obvious one... i dont think i ever really realized how green west virginia is. after coming from trujillo where there is so much sand, driving home last week was almost eye opening, well, that and i felt like i was in a small scale bob ross painting.

we had a truly amazing time in peru. i dont want to try to make a list because i dont want to try to narrow down and define everything that i was so privelaged to be a part of. a few of my favorite moments though.. (of course)
a favorite memory from the first couple of days are a combination of getting off the plane in lima, are group paused before going through customs (im still not real sure why, except that there was a big line and we were waiting on the line to go down) so a peruvian officer approaches us and asks us if there is a reason we werent going through the line, he said "what, you are having second thoughts about entering my country?" this was then followed by our unforgettable nine and a half hour wait that night in the lima airport on our next flight to trujillo. we werent allowed to check in yet which meant that we couldnt get to the comfy seats but instead waited in the cafe on seemingly miniature aluminum seats. we tried our best to sleep, but got shuffled around as they were mopping the floors.

next (chronologically, not by personal importance) we had a fairly small group from what i understand, but im pretty glad we did. there really wasnt any drama and our group seemed to get along well. im very thankful that i got a chance to hang out with them, and especially kelly and bailey (as they were the only other girls on the trip) as i got to know them a lot better than i did previously. us girls bonded i think, in our stale three bed room placed strategically over a room containing a man that was a smoker, a cougher, and a hard core snorer. and over our task of sanding and painting the lobby of the church we were working in. and having twenty minutes each day between construction work and evening activities for the three of us to share a bathroom and get clean for the night. then there were the taxi rides, if you ever feel that you need to get to know someone a little better, or skip an awkward period in a friendship, take them for a taxi ride in ol peru, it will fix you right up. you will be so amazed and thankful that you are both alive and at your destination that you wont even remember that you werent best friends previously.

well, there are a few memories, more to come.. this is going to be a segmented post.
tune in next time to learn about ceviche, peruvian getting to know the gringos games, and much much more.

love.

shes in peru!

hola a mi familia y amigas

ha! thats about it for my spanish. my education didnt stick. well, enough only to get me into a conversation then get lost and confused. weve learned that we would all be much better off if our spanish classes had taught us conversational spanish instead of so much grammar. ç

so far we have been hanging out at the church in arevalo in the mornings, doing construction work.us ´girls´have been sanding down walls and painting. the boys moving and shoveling dirt although, we did help some. pushing a wheelborough over boards over sand. fun fun right?
its been really great to get to know the people here, they are so friendly!!! seriously, even more than people in the south. much much more so. everyone is so helpful. the children... lol, so adorable. this one child oscar, ran inside the church today up behind me and scared me to run back out again, of course i chased him out to tickle him.
and of course the food is amazing as well. the traditional peruvian food is my favorite. rice/potato/tomatoes/... oh my the tangerines here are ammmmmazing. actaully, all the fruit is, but mostly the tangerines, my favorite.
where we are staying they serve us huevos con jamon every morning (eggs with ham) yesterday i took it to them and asked for some without ham and today they bring it to me first without me asking. i was so impressed.

we are having an amazing time here. yesterday we went to a university to invite students to come to ruf tonight. i met a girl named julie as well, she was so sweet and spoke english so well, she was bailey kelly and myself´s guide. (the only girls on the trip) tonight i saw a couple girls that i had invited, fiorella (i think is the spelling) i think we will keep in touch. it was awsome to get to meet everyone. sing in spanish and english. so much fun.

its so encouraging to be here as well. i dont think i can relate how much so.

i hope everyone is doing well! perhaps an update soon?
tomorrow we are taking a saturday to go visit history. before we do youth group.

shes a bit overwhelmed

so its true, finals were finally over with today. and i took the worst one of my life today. it was absolute horror on paper and by way of pencil. well.. presuming i used a pencil. anyway, exams are over. i turned in my post office key. i signed up for a time to check out of the house. half the battle is won right?
well, tomorrow i get to move out the furniture into the storage unit. now granted a guy friend is coming over with a truck and karrie is coming over to help too.. im still nervous. each year past when i have moved from wherever, i have been able to do it alll by my lonesome. just load up the car and drive away. i miss that privilege. since rachel jerusha and i are getting an apartment next year and are keeping some of the furniture from our house.. and since karrie was awsome enough to me to let me use her loft... i have things that little ol me cant just load up into my car. i have to depend on someone else to help me. and its driving me c.r.a.z.y. i think god is teaching me patience. patience and how to work in a team.

oh, Displace Me!
i did end up going on saturday. and it was amazing. of course. although, we didnt get there until much later than anticipated because of other factors... (we got a late start, i ..really dont want to talk about it) i was ready to leave at four, others, were not. we'll leave it at that. but it was awsome. we watched video testimonies one in which a woman described how only women are aloud to get water and they have to carry twenty pounds of it on their heads for two miles. then only girls (at displace me) were aloud to get water. then we watched a video on males and getting food. then the males had to go get our 'food' (crackers). we also had this time of silence.. 21 minutes exactly. that was amazing in and of itself. there were over 3000 people there and it was dead silent for all that time. i was surprised and amazed. when it ended that night and people were heading back to their 'tents' there was a group behind me that had a guitar and they circled up and started singing worship songs! keeping in mind that this event in particular was not a christian organized thing, i was surprised to see this going on. so my friend terri and i sat down to join them. it was so awsome, to be singing worship songs amonst allll these people. after about ten minutes i looked around and i bet fifty people had gathered. it was really awsome. to just be able to participate in this random gathering of believers, something that wasnt organized but just happen becausae people wanted to tell of their love for Jesus. People were randomly giving short testimonies and praying and singing, it was really great. i have to say that was my favorite part. well, that and sleeping with my head stuck in a cardboard box (ha...ha.)
we had some friends that made it there before us that day and went ahead and made our 'tent' (out of cardboard) but they left it open on the top and in my opinion a little to small. i wasnt really into it so i branched out on my own and set up camp solo. it was late when i started but i knew that i didnt want to sleep with my head exposed because i knew from previous experience that its not all that wonderful to wake up with dew on your face. so i threw some cardboard on the ground and found a box that i ducktaped back together and literally stuck my head in to sleep. im sure that it looked pretty fantastically hilarious, but hey my upper body stayed warm. one lesson i learned was that it would have been agood idea to take clothing other than what was on my back. especially when you're a girl that pretty much only wears sandals. this did not go over so well that night when it got cold and the next morning when it was still cold and the grass had freezing cold dew on it. socks would have been a pretty amazing accessory to have. i dont personally have any pictures from this experience as my camera took the notion of going on the fritz as it usually does in my crucial moments. so im going to have to wait until terri gets hers done. that also means i may have to succumb to getting a facebook soon as bad as i hate it because it would be the best way to get ahold of pictures. sadly. i may have to give in. i dont think you realize how bad it would hurt me to suck it up and get one, ive held out for along time.

The tide rolled in not a breath in sight
And this town went down like the moon at night
These poor rooftops only go so high
The volume of our bodies is causing the waters to rise

Why do we cry out only when things go wrong?
How would you feel if I only sang sad songs?

The gavel slams the verdict is in
And the jury find you guilty for the things that you did
You're scared for your life, so you turn to the man
The man that holds your life in the palm of his hands.
And your heart starts racing like a bullet from the gun
And you can feel it in your chest, it's affecting your lungs
This breath that you're taking's getting harder to take
Why did it take so long to wake up?

Why do we cry out only when things go wrong?
How would you feel if I only sang sad songs?

Until now
You have been facing
Everything on your own
Up till tonight

Wake up and remember
Where you came from
To get through tonight

Why do we cry out only when things go wrong?
How would you feel if I only sang sad songs?

Until now
You have been facing
Everything on your own
Up till tonight

Wake up and remember
Where you came from
Between the Trees: Fairweather