Hi. It's Courtney again.
We've been in Peru for almost 2 months now, and one thing that I've been thinking about (and amazed at) is how much more I feel God's presence here than at home. Wheras at home I looked forward to church on Sundays and Bible study on Wednesdays, here I yearn and count the days until our praise and worship time on Sunday nights and get excited about getting up an hour early for our group prayer and devotions time.
Every time I open my Bible, Scripture seems so alive--so much more so than before. I see God's fingerprints in the lives of the kids and other volunteers here--God is just everywhere here.
I'm not sure exactly why coming to Peru has made this change. It could be because i'm here working with some wonderful Christian people who have let their lives be led so masterfully by the Spirit and who are dedicated to being who God wants them to be. It could be also because I'm just so much needier here than I was in the States. For example, when David spiked a high fever which refused to go away, I had no 24 hour nurse phone line to call and ask what to do. I had no convenient ER or Urgent care center with competent doctors who spoke my language, but what I did have was God right there next to me. (Thankfully, our internet was also working so I could get David's mom on Skype, but I digress.) Here in Peru, prayer has become a much higher priority to me, and along with that, much more of a blessing. I find myself turning to God here much more quickly than I did when we were living fairly predictable lives in the States.
As I'm writing and thinking, I'm realizing that our lives, no matter where we call home, are unpredictable. I have no more control over my life in the United States than I do over my life here in Peru--I simply feel less in control here. I guess that sometimes we like to trick ourselves into feeling like we have everything under control when this is just not true. I may have more resources available in the States, but I'm still just as vulnerable and needy as I am when I'm in the desert of Peru. I need God so desperately in both places, I just feel it more helpless here.
In our praise and worship time on Sunday nights, one of the songs we sing most often is Joel Houston's "From the Inside Out." The chorus of this song always reminds me how much I am made for God, and how awesome of a God He is:
"Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out...to You."
-C
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Chispas House Covering Today!
Today, I (Courtney) had a 9-hour house covering in the youngest girls' house (herein referred to as "casita"). The name of this casita is Chispas de Amor, or, Sparks of Love. Despite being extremely nervous last night and this morning, everything worked out well (I only had to punish 1 of my girls today). Here's a snapshot of what I did today:
.Arrive at the casita at 7:45 to get instructions from the madre.
.Color some of the pages from a coloring book I had copied. (I also learned during this time that princesses are WAY cooler than nature to color. Thankfully, I had plenty of princess coloring pages on hand.)
.Play an easy version of charades (which was a somewhat new game for them, and a game that the LOVED. Point for me.)
.Do puzzles
.Watch Aladdin with Tio David (who was kind enough to come hang out with me for awhile)
.Go get the baby's lunch and feed her.
.Clean up and then go get lunch with the rest of the girls in the comedor.
.Stay and finish eating with the last of the girls, then help clean up, make sure teeth get brushed, and give them vitamins (they take the chewable animal kind, and they think the vitamins taste like candy).
.Play outside on the playground (this was where the punishment came in. Another little boy put some sand down one of my girls' shirts and she started pummeling him. She threw some impressive punches for a little girl but, nevertheless, I took her inside for awhile and then proceeded to hunt down and punish the sand-throwing punk.)
.Give the baby a bottle and put her down for a nap.
.Another round of charades and coloring
.A group from a nearby church came and handed out candy and cupcakes to the kids...yum!
.More playing outside, and reading inside...this was actually my favorite part of the day: snuggling with about half of the girls, baby on my lap, reading fabulous books about a mouse dentist who tricks a wolf patient, career day at school, and one very hungry caterpillar.
I decided at the end of this day that, while I like kids and want to have my own someday, I definitely do not want to have 9 kids under the age of 10. It was simply impossible to keep my eyes on all of them all day and I spent half of my time worrying about the girls that were out of eye sight, hoping they weren't picking on someone or jumping off the top of the slide. On the other hand, I was delighted to find that some of the girls in the house were really into books. Even one of the girls who could read pretty well by herself couldn't get enough of me reading to her. <3 Oh, so much love for that sweet girl! Anyway, here are some pictures of the girls that I took care of today. Enjoy! -C
.Arrive at the casita at 7:45 to get instructions from the madre.
.Color some of the pages from a coloring book I had copied. (I also learned during this time that princesses are WAY cooler than nature to color. Thankfully, I had plenty of princess coloring pages on hand.)
.Play an easy version of charades (which was a somewhat new game for them, and a game that the LOVED. Point for me.)
.Do puzzles
.Watch Aladdin with Tio David (who was kind enough to come hang out with me for awhile)
.Go get the baby's lunch and feed her.
.Clean up and then go get lunch with the rest of the girls in the comedor.
.Stay and finish eating with the last of the girls, then help clean up, make sure teeth get brushed, and give them vitamins (they take the chewable animal kind, and they think the vitamins taste like candy).
.Play outside on the playground (this was where the punishment came in. Another little boy put some sand down one of my girls' shirts and she started pummeling him. She threw some impressive punches for a little girl but, nevertheless, I took her inside for awhile and then proceeded to hunt down and punish the sand-throwing punk.)
.Give the baby a bottle and put her down for a nap.
.Another round of charades and coloring
.A group from a nearby church came and handed out candy and cupcakes to the kids...yum!
.More playing outside, and reading inside...this was actually my favorite part of the day: snuggling with about half of the girls, baby on my lap, reading fabulous books about a mouse dentist who tricks a wolf patient, career day at school, and one very hungry caterpillar.
I decided at the end of this day that, while I like kids and want to have my own someday, I definitely do not want to have 9 kids under the age of 10. It was simply impossible to keep my eyes on all of them all day and I spent half of my time worrying about the girls that were out of eye sight, hoping they weren't picking on someone or jumping off the top of the slide. On the other hand, I was delighted to find that some of the girls in the house were really into books. Even one of the girls who could read pretty well by herself couldn't get enough of me reading to her. <3 Oh, so much love for that sweet girl! Anyway, here are some pictures of the girls that I took care of today. Enjoy! -C
 |
| Watching Aladdin |
 |
| Oh yeah, we built a fort, too, out of chairs and blankets |
 |
| Hey, let's see if we can put our feet behind our heads! |
 |
| Coloring! |
 |
| The end of the fort |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)