Knowing Christ's Love and Sharing Christ's Love

I am so thankful for the experience of serving in Tahoe. I can't explain enough how the Lord used the experience to help me grow in Him and grow in so many other areas of my life. It was amazing to be able to teach the preschoolers about Christ and see them grow in knowing more about him. My kids became so confident in praying out load and whenever I asked who wanted to pray tons and tons of hands would go up. One of my students really loved praying. He comes from a home where he has 2 moms, that are actually separating. Ethan is one of the most happy kids you will meet and a very energetic 4 year old boy! Whenever he prayed, he would pray, "Thank you for my mommy, my momma, my brother, and my school" It was beautiful to see that he loved talking to the Lord. When I got home from Tahoe, I received a card in the mail from Ethan's momma. It said, "Thank you for being there for Ethan during this difficult time our family is going through. I knew whenever he was at A+ he was loved and taken care of by you. Thank you for all that you have done with Ethan". It was so sweet and showed me a little glimpse of the part I got to have in Ethan's life and Ethan's family's life and how I was able to show them the love of Christ.

One of my students, had to go live with his grandparents for a little while because his mom had been scheduled long work hours and wasn't able to find sitters for her son at all the times she needed them. One day she came to A+ and she said that he wanted to talk to his teachers on the phone. It was such a good opportunity to tell him that we loved and missed him. After I talked with him on the phone, his mom was brought to tears by the way we showed that we loved her son.

My biggest goal this month was to show people the love of Christ as much as possible.I believe the biggest truth I have seen working around me this month is showing people you care as Christ cares for them. Whether it be through a little boy who rips his homework, a preschooler who throws a tantrum, a preschooler who needs an extra hand putting all his snow clothes back in his cubby, a fellow missionary (and friend) that needs prayer, or just giving someone a hug…showing people you care as Christ makes a huge difference. It brings people to tears when talking to their son on the phone, it brings them happiness to know that their children are loved and cared for, they see the difference when you care as Christ cares.

Once I began to be intentional about showing Christ love, I began to see my students showing it as well. I saw that me showing the love of Chirst has made such an impact on them. I told my preschoolers that I was leaving a couple of weeks before it was time. As I told them, I began crying when I told them that I loved them very much and would miss them so much. One of kids Hanna, said, "Ms. Kayla, I'll be praying for you" It made me cry even harder of course and was one of the sweetest things ever. They all came up to me and hugged me and told me they loved me. This showed me that they have grasped Christ love through me and they are now showing that to not only me, but others too.

This passion to show people's Christ love came from the quiet time I had in November. I had been reading through the book of Songs of Solomon. As I read, I began to even more realize the deep love that Christ has for me and that made me want to share it with others even more. After studying the book, I wrote this response to the Lord.

The intensity of the way Jesus loves me baffles my mind. HE loves me more than the pictured love in Song of Solomon. He loves me more than anyone, my family, my friends. His love is faithful and true. Even though I am a retched sinner and so unclean before him. Once I come to him he makes me clean. He washes away the past failures and sin and disobedience. He washes away my insecurities. He has eyes only for me and wants the best for me. He is for me and not against me.

You speak tenderly over me.
You seek me out
You speak praise over me as I sing praise to you.
You gave your body for me.
You statisfy my every need.
Emotionally. Spiritually, Intellectually, Physically
Therefore, I commit my life to you, my king! My heart to you! So you can move through my life, So I can wear your righteousness, feast at your table.

I surrender to your LOVE JESUS!

So as many of you know, I have been a Christian since I was a little girl, but as I have grown in my relationship with Christ, I grasp more and more how much he loves me. I know I can not fully ever grasp this concept but I do know that as much of it that I can grasp and know the better I can share that love with others. I am so thankful that I got to be apart of what the Lord is doing in Tahoe. He has shown me lately that he is in control of what He has for me next and I just need to trust in what he has in store.

I want to say thanks again to everyone who supported me on this journey through prayers, finances, love, and encouragement. Y'all are just as much a part of this as me who was there, because with out all of you supporting me while I was there I would not have been as effective for Christ! So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! I love y'all so much!!

My amazing Tahoe Team!


And some of my amazing Tahoe kids!




"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." -1 John 4:9

Grace and Love

Thursday and Friday this past week, I was the opening person. That means that I had to get up an hour earlier then normal and open the doors for the kids that come until their bus picks them up for school. One of the boys that come is challenging because he gets upset easily at the little things. On Thursday morning, when he came in his mom said that he had some math homework he needed to finish and said if he didn't finish he would have to come to our after school program that day. So, we worked on it for about 30 minutes and he still didn't finish it. So, he realizes that he is not done when I tell everyone they needed to line up for the bus, so he becomes very angry, cries and is upset. He runs into the corner and cries and keeps saying over and over again, "I'm not going to finish, I'm not going to finish". So, I go over to him and talk with him calmly and tell him maybe we can try and finish as we wait for the bus outside. He just yells and says, "I'm never going to finish it". I then tell him, "well, maybe since you only had a little bit left I can call your mom and tell her that it is just a little bit and see if you can take it home instead of coming to A+. This still does not help and runs back over to the table and rips up 4 pages of his homework. So, I looked up at him and said, "that was not a good choice, we will have to find a solution, you may possibly have to do your homework over again, but I'll talk to Ms. Nell and see what she thinks." He looks at me still upset and we line up and go outside and wait for the bus. As the kids climb onto the bus I tell them I love them and as the boy that ripped up his homework gets on I looked at him and said, "I still love you, even though you ripped up your homework."

The next day, his mom had him come in and apologize to me about him ripping his homework and throwing a fit. We talked about different ways for him to react when he is angry and upset. I asked his mom what she wanted to do about the homework and she said she just wanted him to show the ripped up one to his teacher at school.

As, I began thinking about this situation. I realized how much this reflects our Heavenly Father's love for us is and his grace. I realized that many times in life I get upset and angry and make bad decisions. Yet, the Lord still loves me even though I do it and he gives me grace just as this child's mother did in not making him redo is homework. It made me think how many times have cried and got upset and Christ is right there in the corner with me telling me it is going to be ok. He tells me he still loves me even when I mess up. It was neat to see how God used this situation to remind me of his grace in a practical way. I understand God's grace and I know it is there and his love is there, but it was neat to see it in this situation.

Just thought I would share this with y'all.

It has been eventful since the last time I posted. This weekend we have gotten a lot of snow already. I shoveled for the first time. I have never seen snow so fluffy and it is suppose to continue on into Tuesday. Here are some pics so far of the snow!

The snow is also a good reminder of how Christ has washed us clean!

Time sure does FLY!

It is crazy to me that right now it is November 6th? Where does the time go? I constantly ask this question to myself? I feel as though I have always asked myself this question. I guess it is just proof of the verse in James that says, Our lives are like vapors." or the Psalm I recently read, "Man is like a breath, his days are like a fleet shadow" Psalm 144:4 Man o Man. Sometimes I just don't like how fast life goes by, and sometimes it is a blessing. Right now it is bittersweet for sure. And right now the Lord is showing me how treasure every moment.

Things here in Tahoe are going so great. I love my preschoolers so much. They give the best hugs. They say the funniest things. They are so silly and goofy. I never thought I would love teaching preschool so much. God has confirmed to me so much while I have been here that teaching is my calling. What a comfort to know what the Lord wants me to do. I felt this while I student taught in college, but now I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am going to be teaching in some sort of way for the rest of my life. Does this involve the international mission field? The more I pray, the more I feel led to missions overseas. But the Lord has also showed me the beauty of missions here in the states.

Just here in Tahoe lately I have seen the Lord working in some awesome ways.

**One of my students is a from a single parent home. His mother is trying her best to make their finances stretch and fit all their needs. She told her son, whose in my class, not to worry. He said, "I know mommy God is always with us" she said how do you know this, and he replied, "My teacher Ms. Kayla told me".
It was so awesome to hear that God is working in this family through one of my precious preschoolers.

**Another one of my students told her parents that they had to go out on a date because she wanted to go to Parent's Night out which is a program we do once a month on Friday nights from 6-10 so parents can have a night out to do whatever they want without their kids. Who knows how much that could have blessed that couple to spend a night out with each other?

**This past Friday we had Parent's Night Out. The past 2 times I worked downstairs (with prek-6th grade) and parents came and told me how appreciative they were that we had this for them. This past Friday I worked upstairs with newborns to 3 years old. I also received the same feedback from the parents. You could tell when they came to pick up their kids they were refreshed and so happy.

**We also had a big Halloween Party last week for the kids. There were games, bounce house, piñatas, and a haunted house. We had over 100 kids come and it was a blast. Parents were also so appreciative of this party and it was such a great time.

**Each and everyday I am blown away by the love the kids give me. It is awesome to be able to love them back and show them Christ. I love them so much and am going to miss them when I leave here next month.

**My team had a blessed time visiting San Fran. I was able to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Step in the Pacific Ocean, See the Full House Houses, tour Alcatraz, ride the street cars and just have a good time fellowshipping with my team! It was a wonderful time where we got to know each other better and get a great change in scenery!

I know God has big ministry plans for me at home. That is something that he has also been showing me. Is how I can serve him wherever I am at. So often we get mission focused as it being somewhere far away. But I know that my mission will not stop when I get home. I am a missionary here in Tahoe City, CA and I will be a missionary in Acworth, GA too.

Currently, the Lord has been showing me so much as I study the life of King David. It has been beautiful to see what the Lord did through him because he was a man after God's own heart. Yes, he messed up, but he Loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind as He calls us to do. And in return the Lord greatly blessed him. As I am reading David's life in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, I have been also reading the Psalms he wrote during his life. It is amazing to me how he never ceases to praise the Lord in all his circumstances.

"I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Everyday I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise his greatness no one can fathom." Psalm 145:5

So I have enjoyed reading these Psalms and praising the Lord as I read.

Here are some pics of my amazing Tahoe Times and I hope that in each picture you can see the beauty of what the Lord is doing here...

It's the little things that matter the most

Being here in Tahoe and working with preschoolers all day is draining at times, but recently I have realized what gets me through my days...It's the little things that matter the most...for example

*Waking up a little bit earlier everyday to spend time with my creator. When I do this the whole day is better. My perspective is better, my attitude is that of Christ Jesus, and I love as He Loves.

*Telling people how much you care about them and love them. Whether it be my students, teammates, supervisors, the parents of my kids, anyone that I come in contact with. This makes a big deal into relationships. I have one parent who is a single mom. She is struggling being firm with her son and disciplining him. This week, I sat down with her and just had a conversation about him not eating his lunch. At the end of the conversation she told me, "Thank you for caring so much for him and showing your concern. It means a lot." I never realized that a simple conversation like that would show that, but it did and the Lord used it.

*Spending time with people is vital to building relationships. This seems like a no brainer right? Well, what I had to learn was that even though I live with my teammates doesn't mean that we shouldn't spend quality time together. Last weekend me and four others on my team and one of the ladies from the church went and saw the Big Trees (the redwoods and sequoias). It was a 4 hour road trip to them and I can't tell you fun it was! Just to be with them out of the church setting and see everyone open up and be themselves. I also really got to know the lady from the church (who graciously took us) in a different way. The Big Trees were so amazing! I highly suggest you seeing them if you get the chance!

*Be real with people and they will be real with you. I have seen that once I reveal who I am and what I am going through with others they will do the same. I had my personal conference this week and found out that once I was real with my supervisor she was real with me and now we are closer and understand each other better. Same with others on the team, asking them how they are is important, but it is essential to tell them how you really are doing in order to help them through what they are going through too.

Speaking of the little things it amazing how much 4 year olds get enthralled over something that us as adults would never think twice of. My kids found a bush on the playground it seems to be the home of some caterpillars. These kids have absolutely fallin in love with these caterpillars. They have become our class pets. The first day they found them they were so excited and then a week later they were just as excited about them. I read them the Very Hungry Caterpillar and have been teaching them about bugs and living things through these caterpillars and they are having a blast because they are in love with them. I love building on their interest and I am having a blast as well.

We have also had community helpers week this week. We had several different community helpers come and talk to the kids and the kids got to experience some of what it would be like to be that community helper. It was a fun fun week!

Here are some pictures of the exciting things that have happened these past couple weeks:

The visit to the Big Trees:








My kids and their caterpillars







Community Helpers Week

Laughing til my ABS hurt!

Today has been such a wonderful day. It is awesome how me being human and waking up tired and cranking can be turned around in the blink of an eye by my awesome children in my class. I woke up tired from crying before bed about my dog passing. Yes, I know he is just a dog and way worse things could be happening to me, I know this because there are people in my life going through way worse...but it was still a hard night thinking about all the memories and how much I loved him and what a great dog he was to my family. He was a part of my family and he will be greatly missed.

Anyways, back to my children and all the Lord is doing here in Tahoe. I most say some days have been craaaazy and difficult, having 20 4 year olds from 8:45-5:30 every day is a challenge but such a blessing. I love my kids each and every one of them. When they walk in the door my whole tiredness goes away and I am ready to spend the day with them. This morning I spent the free choice play time reading with 2 of my girls. It was a precious time...I love reading with just one or two and being able to love on them in that way. My kids constantly crack me up. They do the funniest things and say the most hilarious things. It has now been 4 weeks and they seem to be getting used to the routine and mine and CA's expectations. So, it is getting less crazy day by day. Today though I realized how much I can just stand back and watch them and enjoy them. Especially when they are playing. It is awesome to see them learning through play. They have the best imaginations. I loved buying ice cream for 200 dollars the other day. Today, I laughed until my abs hurt on the play ground at one of my boys who wear too big of shorts and had to run around holding them up while he played(you had to be there I think to laugh as hard as I did). I realized that I am loving getting to know them, their likes, their dislikes, their hangups. I am so glad the first few weeks are over and I am beginning to truly know the kids and the parents. The parents are trusting me more and more each day. They are staying to talk and also asking for me to babysit. The Lord is showing me through the little moments that I am exactly where I should be right now at this time.

My team has been wonderful. We are praying for each other, laughing with each other and just chilling with each other. It has been awesome to get to know them and what the Lord has placed on their hearts.

Fun things I have done so far in Tahoe besides teaching of course:
*Boat Riding to Emerald Bay and hiking the Island to the Tea House
*Hiking up to a beautiful cross (much easier hike then the one in Peru)
*Boat Riding and getting to Wake Board on Lake Tahoe. (had to wear a wet suit cause the water was so cold) SO fun though!!
*Seeing a bear! Saw a bear up in the tree right outside the school/church. Got to take my kids to look at it.
*Went to the Balloon Race in Reno. Watched over 100 hot air balloons fly in the air.
*Celebrated my 22nd Bday here and got 2 cakes!

God is great! He is doing awesome things here...be in prayer that the relationships we are building with our kids and families will bring opportunities to minister to them.

"I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in his unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints." Psalm 52:8-10

Here are some pics, there are more on facebook!

The class


Seeing the Bear

Love.

I am so in love. I am first and foremost in love with my Lord and Savior, each day he shows me something that makes me love him even more, and what is really cool is that his love for me is never changing and always consistent as well. I am in love with Tahoe already. It is so beautiful how could I not be, but also the people are so awesome too. They have their own uniqueness and personalities. I love my preschoolers. There is just something about a little hug from a four year old that makes me know that I am exactly where God wants me to be. I love teaching. It is awesome to see the light bulb click on or a kid grasp something they never knew. I love my team. We are always laughing and supporting each other.

So, yes I love life right now. How could I not?

The past week and half has been wonderful so far. I have seen the power of serving already and how much it makes an impact for the Lord and others. Whether it is cleaning a toilet or teaching a kid their days of the week, serving the Lord is my passion. I have realized that through out the day no matter what I am doing, I am serving Him and how impactful that can be.


The Lord is shaping and molding me as well. I have been reading Radical and have been so challenged by it. It is amazing how he puts the words of the Lord in a context that make them stick out. I have learned how easy it is to read things in the Bible and just skim them instead of taking them to heart, and changing my life due to them. God calls us to be Radical and the majority of the time that means living life way different then world and often the "American Dream" lifestyle. I have been challenged and encouraged that serving the Lord in Tahoe is a way that my life is being Radical before the Lord. I want to continue to live a Radical Life for Him until He returns or takes me home.

I am so thankful for encouraging friends and family in my life. Thanks so much for all you do. Continue to pray for Tahoe City, my kids, and opportunities to arise to minister.

Some exciting things that happened this past week---
*Taking kids from prek-6th grade to the beach on Lake Tahoe
*Taking kids from prek-6th grade on a hike up a mountain over looking Lake Tahoe and eating a sack lunch and enjoying the view.
*Bonding with my team as we drove around the lake and hung out.
*Spending time with some awesome adult ladies from GA who came and helped out here for a week. They were such an encouragement and support
*Having church service outside has been so awesome!
*Hiking up to a cross with my team and looking at the view!
*Teaching pre-k! I love my kids already!
Love y'all so much!

Tahoe Time: T minus 9 Hours!

Tahoe time is now T minus 9 hours! In just 9 hours I will be boarding a plane to Phoenix and then to Reno. In Reno, I then drive 1 hour to Tahoe City, CA!

It is incredible where the Lord has taken me and the plans He has sat out ahead. It has been so awesome to just let Him have complete control. I can't wait to see what He does in Tahoe. I can't wait to see my pre-k students and start learning who they are and teaching them! I can't wait for all the opportunities that the Lord has lined up for me!!

It has been a wonderful last couple days here at home. I got to be apart of a great church service on Sunday and spend time with friends there who greatly encouraged me. I got to talk to my grandparents and aunt on the phone which was so encouraging. I got to spend time with the girls from Peru, which was much needed. I think we had another debriefing and encouraged each other. I also got to spend time with my three best friends from high school. I am so excited to see where the Lord leads each of them this year and it was a wonderful time of encouragement as well. I also got to spend time with my fantastic family. I enjoyed swimming at the pool with my niece today, holding my new born nephew, and hanging out with my mom, dad, brother and sister in law. I am truly blessed with an amazing support system. Of course as you read that you read the word encouraging a lot and that is what you all are to me! So Encouraging and supportive and I am so thankful! I am so thankful for your words of encouragement, support and most of all prayers!

I have also just started reading the book Radical by David Platt. It has already challenged me so much! But, I wanted to share this quote from the book. It really stuck out to me and made me see the blessing I have in my family/friends and the richness of my calling. How my family/friends and my calling gives my life the meaning that Christ calls us to have:

"Our meaning is found in community and our life is found in giving ourselves for the sake of others in the church, among the lost, and among the poor."

This really stuck out to me because I have seen such a value in the community the Lord has given me and the calling he has given me to serve others.

Well, as I have told many of you I am going to keep this blog updated as much as possible. Hopefully once a week if things don't get too crazy! I am so excited and I can't wait to see all the Lord does.

This is my prayer for my community (family and friends):

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21

Tahoe Address and Contact Information

FOUR DAYS TIL TAHOE! Can't believe it!!

Many of you have already asked for my address while I am in Tahoe.

My mailing (for letters) address will be

Semester Missionary
Kayla Pohl
P.O. Box 7433
Tahoe City, CA 96145

If you want to ship something (packages and such) via UPS or Fed Ex the address is
Kayla Pohl
First Baptist Church
390 Fairway Drive Tahoe City, CA 96145
530-58-31534

So there you go, I would love snail mail, but I will have my laptop and wireless internet in Tahoe so it is not a necessity to mail me real mail unless you really want to and I know I would love some real mail! Thanks so much for all the support, encouragement and prayers! Love y'all so much! I will be sure to post a more detailed post about leaving for Tahoe soon!

How Beautiful

How beautiful of a summer was the one I just spent in The Andean Mountains of Huancane, Peru. The people are what I already miss the most. Yet, I know God is with them and going to continue to move and work in mighty ways.

I have been home for 4 days and it has already flown by. In just 9 days I will be hopping on a plane again. Destination Lake Tahoe. Pretty Crazy. But before I jump ahead let me wrap up my final week in Peru.

For our final week in Peru, we had 2 days of debriefing (Mon and Tue) in Huancane with the Moho and Conima teams. We enjoyed hearing all that the Lord did through them this summer and in them. We also enjoyed worshiping with them again. We also had a little end of the summer X-games that the Grady's came up with. It was three events and let's just say the Conima team redeemed themselves. It was a lot of fun just to spend time with everyone again.

Tuesday night was an emotional night. We all decided to get together and pray and wash the feet of John, Sonia and Pastor Ruben. There were many tears in the room due to the powerful impact they have had on this summer and knowing that we would be leaving so soon. Pastor Ruben and his family were extremely emotional especially his little daughter Edith. I had a precious moment just holding her in my arms as tears streamed down my face and hers as I prayed over her for peace and comfort and guidance in the future. It is so true that the Lord absolutely places people in your lives when you need them the most and my roomies, the Grady's and Pastor Ruben's family were those for me this summer. So, realizing that it was goodbye soon was not easy.

Wednesday through Saturday we got to go to a tourist town called Puno. It was extremely fun! We stayed in a super nice hotel and enjoyed comfortable beds and hot showers. We also got to eat out at some awesome restaurants. On Thursday of that day we visited the floating islands that are made by native Peruvians out of reeds and they live on them. It was beautiful and incredible to see and experience. We had a great time! Thursday, we saw Pre-Inca Ruins called the Sillustani. It was so neat to see a place that has been standing for so long and hear about their lives so long ago. We really enjoyed both of these tours and took some neat pictures that are now on facebook so check them out. Puno was really fun and it was a good last couple of days of bonding with everyone before we left Peru.

We left Puno on Saturday afternoon and arrived in Juilica to get our flight around 3. We met an interesting man in the airport that day who believed in "Earth, Wind, and Fire." He as very interesting guy and helped pass the time while we waited for our 5:30 flight to Lima. We then flew out at 5:30 pm for Lima and got into Lima at around 7ish. We then had a lay over until our midnight flight out of Lima to Atlanta. In the Lima airport we enjoyed Papa John's pizza and getting our nails done as we waited for our flight. Then, we parted ways with the Texans as their flight left a little after ours. It was sad to say bye to them, but we are hoping to have reunions in the future! Our flight to Atlanta wasn't too bad. I watched one movie and then slept for 3 hours, tried to eat the plane breakfast and then it was pretty much time to land in the ATL. It was so exciting to see my mom and dad and everyone else's families too. We spent the morning at IHOP catching up with our families and enjoying our first moments back in the states.

Now, I am treasuring my 2 weeks here at home with my friends and family as well as getting ready for Tahoe. I can't believe I leave in just 9 days!!


___________________________________________

I also wanted to post on here something that I had to write for the SENDMENOW GA Baptist Collegiate Ministries program. It is a short snapshot of what the summer meant to me and how God used me and molded me this summer. It is pretty long so Iunderstand if you don't read it, but I thought some of you would like to hear some of the spiritual stuff God showed me this summer. Love y'all and so much and I am so thankful for your prayers, support, and encouragement you have given me this summer and in my life in general!

If you had the opportunity (and you do) to start with a blank page and fill it with your explanation and expression of the missions experience, what would you write? What are the words that can paint the picture and speak from your heart?


Going into summer missions this summer, I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me. Since the fall of last year, I felt the Lord calling me to give up my whole summer and go on a summer mission trip for the entire summer. This was a huge sacrifice for me for several reasons. First, I would be giving up a summer to have a job and make some much needed money. Second, I would be giving up a summer to find a permanent teaching position. Third, I would miss seeing my nephew being born, seeing friends get married and Fourth, I would miss spending so much needed time with family and friends.

Yet, when you hear God’s voice it becomes the only one that matters. Yes, those four things listed above matter to me don’t get me wrong, but serving the God of the Universe, my Lord and savior, my best friend, redeemer, lover of my soul is what I have been called to do and what ever that looks like I need to do it and be obedient to him. He was calling me to give up my summer and sacrifice and that is what I needed to do.

I have learned that doing missions is not easy. It is a sacrifice. Many people when they hear that I have spent a full summer in Peru they think of it as an adventure, vacation, get away. Yet, If they only knew what I went through and my fellow summer missionaries. Missions is extremely difficult. You get physically sick, you are tired, you become homesick, and you miss your support system. You are in a place where the people don’t speak your language and often don’t understand your culture and you have a difficult time understanding their culture as well. So, for people who think I was going on an adventure, vacation, get away this was far from it. I was in Peru because the Lord placed me there. He gave me a heart for these people. A heart to share his love and himself with them. I grew to love them as much as I love the Lord and as much as I love my family and friends here in the states. I wanted the people of Peru to know how much the Lord loves them and wants to be their savior, best friend, redeemer, and lover of their souls. That is why I went to Peru.

In Peru, I definitely had my share of struggles and hard times, but looking back none of that matters or compares to the experiences I had getting to share the Lord with the people there. My heart began to ache and burn for the people to know the Lord. As we began teaching ESL classes and building relationships with our students, I became excited seeing how we were making an impact on their lives. Every Tuesday and Thursday we had ESL classes. We had one for children and one for adults. At the end of each ESL class we told an oral Bible story. At the beginning of the summer the people in our classes were hesitant to talk and answer the questions we asked after the story, but by the end of the summer they loved talking and sharing what the liked about the story, what the story taught them about God and people and so on and so forth. It was beautiful to see them open up and begin to hunger and thirst for the living God and his Word.

One moment I will never forget was the night that we were able to share the gospel with our ESL class. Pastor Ruben, a Peruvian who we became extremely close to while in Peru told the story of Paul and Silas in chains, his testimony and also the gospel presentation. When the students in our ESL class responded it was incredible to see their faces light up and see the joy of the Lord in them. They were changed and we could tell and it was so beautiful. They committed to following the Lord and I can’t explain the joy I felt when I saw them come to know my savior and now theirs. All of those moments of sickness and tiredness were worth it in that moment. Whether we were playing volleyball with them, teaching them ESL, or sharing a Bible Story in that moment it became clear that all the time we spent made a difference. A life changing and eternal difference for these Peruvians. It is so beautiful to be able to be have been used by the Lord and to be his hands and feet to people who have never heard of him. It is beautiful to see what He can do with you when you let him use you.

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God Reigns”.

Oh, how truthful this verse is and how applicable it has been to my life in Peru these past two months. I am excited to see what the Lord has for me these next five months in Tahoe City, California as I teach preschoolers and minister to the people there. The Lord has truly provided for me and I am so blessed. I continue to lay my life before him in obedience and I can’t wait to see what he does!


What has the telling brought into focus and revealed to you?

Telling my story has made me realize how much I have grown in the Lord this summer. Before this summer, I felt as though I was a strong Christian and close to the Lord, but serving in Peru this summer, I have grown even closer to the Lord. This happened for several reasons. First, I spent so much more quality time with him. My quiet times have been a lot more meaningful and not rushed. I found the value of sitting and just being with him and in his presence. I truly hunger and thirsted for Him and his word more than ever. It was what I depended on to get me through the days. I did not have my family and close friends to depend on so I had to seek after the Lord and get his strength and supernatural Holy Spirit from Him in order to serve him fully.

I learned the value of the family of God. In Peru, I became very close to the Peruvian pastor and his family. One day, I was very sick and the pastor came and prayed for me. This meant so much to me and I saw that need for the family of God. Also, I knew that the family of God back home including my family and friends were praying for me and supporting me and that meant so much to me.

I also feel prepared and ready to step into the next phase of my life that God has for me. I will now be serving as a semester missionary in Tahoe City, California. I truly believe that everything I have gone through in Peru was a way for God to prepare me for what he has ahead for me in Tahoe this fall. I am excited to see what He is going to do and I am trusting in him completely with it all. It is all in his hands and I pray that I can continue to be his hands and feet in powerful ways in Tahoe. I can’t wait to see what beautiful things he has ahead.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Isaiah 64:4

What a Last week in Huancane!

It has been quite the final full week here in Huancane. I can´t believe this time next week I will be home. It is very bitter sweet. I am definitley ready to see my family and friends especially baby Judah, but I am going to miss Peru and the people here that we have become so close to, so much has happened this week so here you go...

Tuesday, I finished reading Jungle Sunrise. It is such a great book, I highly recommend it. It is a quick read and definitley gives you insight in the life of a missionary in the Peruvian Jungle. I really enjoyed it. After reading we went to Ruban´s where they taught us how to make fluff balls. It was quite challenging task and let´s just say mine didn´t turn out quite as it should have haha. Luisa expressed how much she missed us while we were in Moho and said she got a taste of how it will be when we leave for good. This made us very sad to think about leaving Luisa and Ruban. Ruban taught Luisa how to play spoons so we have played with her quite a bit since being back from Moho. We then went and ate some lunch and then went to Mariela´s (a girl in our ESL adult class) and she let us see her pet monkies. that was really fun. We went to buy the monkey something to eat and I thought we would have gotten it a banana or something but instead Mariela got it a lollypop! I thought it was hilarious! We had a great time hanging out with Mariela and her pet monkey Jack. After hanging with them, I learned the prodigal son story for ESL kids class. Kids ESL class went great we sang, played bball review game, and I told the story and they all seemed very interested and listend very well. Ruban then came to us and told us how he had been praying and felt as though God was telling him to tell the prodigal son story. He didn´t even know that I had told it to the kids. We told him to go for it since it was what God was leading him to do. It was so awesome to see the holy spirit work and move.

Wednesday, Luisa made us chicken, vegetables and rice for lunch it was delicious! We then fixed her family poppy seed chicken for dinner before church. Ruban preached Tower of Bebel at church and it went well. We then played spoons with them after church and drank chocolatoda.

Thursday was very eventful! I woke up and made french toast for breakfast which was so good! Then we went to Juilica with Luisa. We bought a cake for Maggie´s birthday and some toys for the kids in ESL class. We then had parties for both of our ESL classes. The kids behaved so well and had a great time eating sweets, chips, and breaking pinuta. Andrea told the story of Jesus and the Little Children. WE pray that this sticks with them and they have learned how much Christ loves them.

The adult class was amazing! God truly worked and spoke through Ruban. He gave his testiomony, told the story of Paul and Silas, and also gave the Roman Road. It was truly powerful. Even though it was all in Spanish, I could feel the power of the holy spirit in the room. Luisa was tearing up while Ruban spoke. During his talk I could tell that Maggie and Andrea were praying just as hard as I was. After he was done talking he said he would give everyone a few minutes to think about what he said. When Ruban came back in Roger stood up. Maggie and I were unsure as to what was happening and then Ruban said ¨Si¨ and Roger said ¨Si¨. He wanted to have Christ as Savior. He had tears in his eyes and I had tears in mine. It was awesome! After him Mariela, Edgar, Gaby, and Gladys all said they had accepted Christ too. It was beautiful and super exciting! We all hugged and rejoiced with them! John came as well and talked with them more about their decisions and also helped nail down times for them to meet for more storying. I pray tat these continue to seek the Lord. We then ate spagetti which all the students loved! The boys had huge mountains of it on their plates it was awesome! They also loved the jello for dessert. It was an awesome day of the Lord and God moved in mighty ways!

Friday, we woke up and it was Maggie´s birthday. I made her french toast for breakfast and Andrea and I decorated her room in baloons and made a huge birthday card for her while she was in the shower. She laughed a lot when she saw it. We then went to Sonia´s and used the internet and phone so Maggie could talk to family and friends for her birthday. I uploaded a lot of pics on Friday so you should check them out. We then went to Rubans where we hung out and played cards with his family and Gaby from ESL class. Then John and Ruban went to Conima so we helped Luisa peel potatoes for Maggie´s bday lunch on Saturday. We then went and bought some more stuff for the lunch on Saturday, ate dinner, and then had cake and ice cream for Maggie´s bday. It was a blast.

Saturday, we woke up and I made french toast yet again haha. You can tell we are getting near the end because I am making the same food to try and get rid of our bread. I then heard Luisa knock on the door and I told her we would come help her cook at 9:30. I am very proud of my spanish communicating here lately. It only took me 2 months to be able to talk fairly well with people. So, then we went and helped her with the pototoes. She made 2 huuuuuuuuuge pans full and we took them across town in the Trice to put in a big oven. They cooked for 2 hours. We went back home to wait for them to cook and Luisa peeled apples and made fruit salad. Then we had an amazing birthday lunch for Maggie. We ate pork, fruit salad, potatoes, and spagetti. Then at 3:30 we went and babysat John and Sonia´s kids while they had a yard sale.

Today, we helped John and Sonia again sale their things. It was fairly successful since it as market day and everyone was out and about. We had quite a good time helping them out. After that we came and hung out with Mariela and Gaby. We ate ice cream and then helped the 2 of them get facebook. I have really enjoyed getting to know these girls and I pray that God continues to draw them to himself. They mentioned riding with us to Juilica on Wednesday when we leave. This made me sad, they said they were going to cry and we all know that me being my emotional self will cry too. We plan to hangout with Rosmmy today at 4:30 so that is good pray for this time as it will probably be our last time with her before we leave. She was sick last week so we havn´t seen her much lately.

Tomorrow and Tuesday we have debriefing with John, Sonia, the Moho team and The Conima Team. Then we leave on Wednesday for 3 days in Puno. We fly out of Juilica on Saturday and will be getting into Atlanta Sunday at 8:15 am.

Prayer Request--
-Our final days here
-Saying goodbye to the amazing people here, the great friends we have made
-Discipleship of the new believers that came to know the Lord on Thursday
-Traveling to Puno for our retreat
-Traveling HOME!

Well, I guess my next blog update will be when I get home on my own laptop! That is exciting!

I love you all and thank you for all your support, prayers, and encouragement while I have been here in Peru.

Adventures!

What a week!! I can´t believe that we only have one full week left here in Huancane! We are definitley making the most of it and taking it all in! God is continuning to do mighty things and we are just taking in all the last little bit of time we have left.

Tuesday the 13th, we took a restful morning. We def. needed it after our weekend at the compo and in Juilica and just visting with the Moho team while they were here in Huancane. We printed our certificates for ESL students which we will give them this week, pretty crazy our last 2 classes are this week. We have grown pretty attached to our students especially the teenagers in our adult class. They are all really starting to get involved in the Bible stories at the end and participating a lot. We are praying that their interest in the Lord continues after we leave and that they will hopefully want to continue to come to stories that Ruban does.

Wednesday, we went to Pastor Ruban´s wife Louisa´s Compo where she grew up and her parents still live. It was such a neat place. I will be posting the pictures on facebook as soon as I can. They live such a simple and beautiful life. Louisa showed us all around the compo and should us how they grow potatoes and raise sheep. We hiked the mountain right above her house! It was so much fun. I love hiking but especially love hiking with the HH CREW and Ruban and Louisa. We took so many photos and videos on our hike and just enjoyed God´s Creation. We saw beautiful views of Lake Titicaca! It was gorgeous. The hike down was a blast too. We ended up right in Louisa´s backyard it was really neat. Her dad showed us the house and he showed us his workshop and the kitchen. They cooked ¨dinner on the grounds¨ like they cooked for us at the church anniversory last Saturday. This time it had this ahi sause with it though and it was really good. I really liked it and I ate a lot of it. Ruban showed us around more and then it was time to go. This is when I started feeling sick. My mouth and face went numb and my hands. I also had a really bad headach. But I thought it would go away so I didn´t tell anyone until about half way on our walk to the lake. I was hurting so bad and I told them when we arrived at the lake I couldn´t remember their names or the name of the Lake which is so weeeeeeird! The girls took some pictures in boats by the lake but I felt so bad, I couldn´t go out with them. After they took some pictures we started our long walk home from the compo, we took a combi there but it is just luck to find one back. We kept praying for a bus or combi but we walked about an hour until one finally picked us up about 20 minutes from Huancane. We had had 2 buses, a combi, and an ambulance pass us until the one finally picked us up! Thank the Lord! The combi was already pretty packed but we fit so we got on in. Once we arrived back home I went to the bathroom and threw up a little. I guess it was about time for that to happen to me here. I then slept from 2pm to 6:30 am the next day. Maggie and Andrea gave me a powerade, bendryl and ib profin. The next day though I was good as new! Praise the Lord!!

Thursday, we went to Juilica again this time with Rosmmy. She really wanted to hangout with us so we said we would go with her. We rode the public bus which was pretty interesting in Juilica as well as helped her get some shoes in Topac. Our relationship with Rosmmy has gotten very strong and I pray that she will continue to seek the Lord when we leave. She gave the Bible Story on Tuesday at ESL class and did an awesome job. I could tell she put a lot of work into it and we were very proud of her. ESL classes went well on Thursday too. Louisa storied for the adults and did great. We played BINGO with both classes. The kids had a hard time but the adults really enjoyed it! We cooked pork chops, mac and cheese and broccoli for dinner! It was delicious American meal thank you GBC and GA BCM´s for all the great food we have had this summer!

Friday, I got up and had some awesome quiet time with the Lord. Then I called Sonia up to see if I could come use her phone to call the family and see what the news was with the Baby! It was great I was able to call and talk to Dad, Mom, Mary, and Clare and here all about my new nephew who was born at 9:30 Thursday. His name is Judah Patrick Pohl and he weighs 8lbs 2 oz! He is 21 inches long too!! We are all very excited and I definitely can´t wait to see him in person along with all of my family and friends at home in less then 2 weeks!! After chatting on the phone with the family and checking email we went and ate some lunch and then hung out with Louisa. We went and bought chicken for the cooking class that night and even was able to get it seasoned by our favorite chicken place here in town. It rained while we were out and about on Friday which is crazy! It has not rained all summer so it was a nice change for sure! We bought Tim and Jessica there bday presents and made homemade cards for them. We also had volley which was alot of fun. The girls Mariela, Gabbie and a new girl came out and they also stayed for cooking class. Louisa told the story of the women that was bleeding and Jesus healed her. We ate some delicious fried chicken and potatoes! Please continue to pray for these girls and that they will have personal relationships with Christ.

Saturday, we woke up and it was raining outside, strange again for this time of year here in Huancane. Ruban called and reserved seats for us for our bus ride to Moho and we waited for the bus for an hour. Finally at 10:30 am we caught the bus to Moho. We arrived in Moho and hour later and were very excited! We found out that we wouldn´t be going camping due to the weather, but we decided to go hiking instead. Maggie, Tim, Ruban, me, and 2 little Peruvian girls went rock climbing on the face of the mountain it was challenging and so fun! The view at the top was breath taking of all the mountains and Lake Titicaca. We took beautiful and fun pictures and spent some great time together with the Moho girls and Andrea when we all made it to the top. God was definitley there with us because it was raining everywhere else but on the mountain. He kept us all healthy too. We then went back to team Moho´s place (they stay at a Lutheren Compound) and rested. Then we built a fire and cooked hotdogs and smores which were so delicious even for being in Peru! We had a fun time celebrating Tim´s birthday. We also had great guitar music from both Jeremy L. and Tim. Some people began going to bed, but some Peruvian teens came out to our bonfire so we hung out with them some more. They got Tim a little gift too it was a cute little statue of a gringo haha. We then played cards, we played golf, kings corner, and spoons. We sang Happy Birthday to Tim and ate some great cupcakes the missionary Sonia made for us. We then went to the plaza where he ran up the Catholic Church steps while we hummed the ROCKY theme song. After that we all went to bed.

During the middle of the night, Maggie, Andrea and I were sleep on 2 twin beds and they broke, we about died laughing. It was interesting nights sleep that is for sure. We had a wonderful breakfast Sunday. Some of the Moho team and Andrea made French Toast and Eggs it was delicious. I am really starting to like eggs, I guess its a good thing haha! We then went around Moho´s Plaza for their market day and then went to the Luthern Church for service. Jeremy and Tim played a few songs and Jeremy spoke to the church. We then had lunch, some delicious spagetti and people used the phone and internet in the plaza. I decided to wait to get back to Huancane until using the internet since so many people were getting on. While everyone was out, I started reading the book Jungle Sunrise which is about missionaries in the Peruvian Jungle. It is so good and I only have a few chapters left in it! For dinner, we cooked fried chicken, green beans, salad, and mac and cheese it was really good! We tried to go to do a story with a family but the father was in Conima for work so we just went back and had some worship time as a group. Some young girls the Moho team has been ministering too were there for some of the worship time too, pray for these girls. They are only 10 and 11 and there living by themselves because their families have gone into the jungle to harvest coffee to provide for the family. They leave the girls alone to take care of themselves so they have been hanging out with the Moho team alot. Pray that the girls will be o.k. after the Moho team leaves Moho and that they will be protected and taking care of and that they may come to know the Lord.

Today, we got back on a bus for Huancane about 9 am in Moho. We took a day rest and unpacked from our time in Moho. Pray for our last week here. We have our last ESL classes and our last stories with them, one is the gospel message. Pray that God will prepapre the people for this message. Pray that we have a fruitful last week and that the believers will continue to be encouraged as it is our last week here. Pray that we will stay strong this last week and keep our focus.

I will leave you with 2 verses God put on my heart this week:
Deut. 20:30 ¨Love the Lord your God, Listen to his voice and hold fast to him¨
Samuel 22:29 ¨You are my lamp oh Lord, The Lord turns my darkness into light¨

Love you all and see you very soon!

Important Events that I forgot

So, I know you are all going to think it is crazy that I am posting two days in a row. This is a rareity for me to be able to get on 2 days in a row. But, we had some free time and a busy week ahead so the roomies and I decided to go ahead and come out to the internet cafe tonight.

Some important events that happened that I forgot to write in my last post:

Last Saturday and this Saturday we got to experience the COMPO Life. The Compo is the little communities on the outskirts of Huancane. Last Saturday we went to a community for church service. The church in this community was started a few years ago by another missionary named Rick. It was a fast rapidly growing church, but lately it has gone down hill. Some of the people have gone back to their fiesta ways and others have gotten involved in a cult group so please be praying for this community. When we went there were only 2 people at the church service a father and son. This community needs a great deal of prayer.

The other community we went to this past Saturday was on the opposite side of the mountain here in Huancane. It was the church´s 5th anniversory which is a big deal in Peru. The worship service had about 15 belivers at it which was awesome. It was very long! It lasted 5 hours they sang pretty much all of the songs in their native language Aymara which is very challenging to sing for us English speakers. They also had 4 speakers so it was pretty long. Then after the service we had ¨dinner on the grounds¨. This is where they bring in boiled potatoes and beans. It was pretty good especially since the service was 5 hours and we were all very hungry!!

We had a blast this weekend hanging out with the Moho Team. They are such a lively bunch and we love just spending some relaxing time with them. We watched Lord of the Rings with them and played volleyball with them and Pastor Ruban and Louisa. It was a blast!

Today we went to Juilica with the Moho team and Pator Ruban and Louisa! We had such a blast and quite the little adventure. We helped the Moho Team buy some presents for family back home and we bought a cake for Maggie, Tim and Jessica´s birthdays. We ate at a pretty fancy resteruant and then got to eat the cake for the Birthday it was a blast! I got to eat lasagna and just had a really fun day!!

Thank you all for your support, prayers and encouragement they mean so much!!

VBS and More

This week we woke up and had VBS Tuesday thru Friday at a local preschool here in Huancane. It was a great experience. During one of the times we were there out singing Christian Kid songs, God showed me how unique and awesome of an experience it was to be there. You definitley could not go into a public preschool in the states and have a VBS and share the love of Christ. What an opportunity. We had a great time singing and doing crafts with them each day. School here in Peru is a lot different then in the states. The teachers do not have much classroom management so the kids basically do what they want in the classroom, so let´s just say that was a little different then when I student taught in the states. We had a blast though and I think they learned some Bible stories and were able see the love of God in us. At the end of the week the director of the school had a meeting with us and told us how thankful he was that we came and shared with the kids. He said every kid deserves to decide their own faith. So, that was really neat to here. He was very encouraging and I think we also made a big impact on the teachers there, they all told us how thankful they were that we came.

Other than VBS we had our ESL classes on Tuesday and Thursday. They are going really well and everyone seems to be opened more and more to the Bible Story we tell at the end. Continue to pray for these classes. We only have 4 left which is crazy and we would love for the people here to want to know more and more about our Savior.

I am continually thankful for the opportunities God keeps bringing our way to share with people. The relationships we have built are getting stronger and stronger. People sure love cooking for us! Rosmmy´s mom cooked Lomo for us on Tuesday for lunch and Louisa cooked Chicken soup for us for dinner on Monday. We also had a bonfire after dinner with Ruban and Louisa in which we showed them how to cook smores! It was awesome! I love bonfires, smores, my roomies, and Peruvians! We also had delicious chocolatada with our smores! Louisa also cooked Lomo for us on Friday and we babysat for the missionaries that night so they could go out for a night without the kiddos.

Well, it has been another great week in Peru. VBS was great and ESL classes are going well!

Love yáll!

Prayer Request-
-We stay focused for the last 2 weeks of our ministry
-Last ESL Classes
-Continue to encourage believers here
-Continue to build relationships with nonbelievers here
-Everyone stays healthy

Muy Facil

I titled this weeks blog entry ¨Muy Facil¨ because that has been the phrase that Pastor Ruban uses all the time when we missionary girls think that something he does is hard, He will just so oh no its ¨muy facil¨ which means very easy is in Spanish.

It has been such a fun and eventful week!

Monday was not the greatest, I got some stomach bug and fever so that was not cool. I was in bed all morning pretty sick. But, I have the most amazing roomies who took care of me got me some medicine and Pastor Ruban came and prayed for me. I got to see how much the people around me care for me and love me. I am thankful for them, as I said in my last post.

Tuesday, I was feeling a lot better. We had our ESL classes. It was a fiesta day which means people pretty much don´t do anything and just party instead. The kids don´t have school and people close their stores and businesses. This has happened pretty much every week since we have been here. There will be one day when there is some kind of fiesta they have to celebrate. So, needless to say we had 3 kids in ESL class and about 6 adults. We still had a great time though.

Thursday, we went to Juilica with Pastor Ruban and Louisa. They helped us buy VBS crafts for our VBS that will be this week and end of the semester party things for our last ESL classes. We decided for our last classes that we will have a fun little celebration for them. We are going to cook some American Food and have a Pinuta. While we were in Juilica we also stopped at this awesome pastry-bakery place and had some awesome pastries it was delicious! We also found an awesome cake place where will get a birthday cake from in a few weeks for Maggie, Tim and Jessica´s Birthdays. We enjoyed spending time with Ruban and Louisa they have been such a blessing to us. We had ESL classes too on Thursday and they went really well we came up with a fun game to teach fruits which was kinda like musical chairs.

Friday, we had a volleyball outreach and we had invited our ESL students but none of them showed up. But God is faithful and he brought out tons of others who really wanted to play with us! We had a great time and were able to meet new people that we can hopefully continue to build relationships with these last couple of weeks. We also got to drive Pastor Rubans dad´s trice around a little bit. That was a lot of fun and there are videos of this on facebook!

Saturday, we hung out at Ruban´s and started making our own projects which we are excited about. I also helped Jeremy teach some English to a family. We also had a women´s outreach. We did a cooking class with them and taught them how to make banana pudding! They loved it! After cooking we were also able to share a women´s Bible story that they all enjoyed! It was a great and successful outreach. One of the girls from our ESL class came to the cooking class and then stayed for the church service after. We also got to watch Pride and Prejudice with the Conima team who is town for the weekend. It was a nice treat to be able to kick back and watch a movie again. Especially one that us girls are so fond of ;)

Sunday, was 4th of July and it was a blast! We had quite a 4th of July even though we were in Peru. WE woke up to the Moho team singing Patriotic songs outside our door letting us know that they had arrived. We then spent the morning with them shopping in the market. Around noon, we had lunch at John and Sonia´s house. They grilled out hamburgers and made beans and salsa dip. We also had apple pie and chocolote peanut butter cookies. Us Huancane girls made banana pudding for everyone as well. We then played American Games. We did Team Georgia against Team Texas. We had potato sack race (which I particpated in), frozen t-shirt, bobbing for apples, clothes put on, manderine challenge, and cracker eating contest. It was a blast and ended up being a tie so we did an egg drop from the hostile roof. Then we still tied because neither egg broke, so then the 2nd tie breaker was an egg toss which team GA won!! Yeah, we represented. There will be pictures and videos on facebook soon! We are also planning on shooting off some fireworks tonight that we got here! Very Excited about this too!

Well it has been an awesome week! The Moho team went back to Moho today and the Conima team will leave tomorrow! Thanks for all your prayers and support! Happy 4th of July!

Love you all!

Prayer Request
-Pray for the relationships we have built with non believers that they will continue to grow and we can share more with them.
-Pray for our health. Many people have been getting stomach bugs lately.
-Pray for ESL classes
-Pray for our sports outreaches
-VBS starts this week (although we don´t have it on Monday because school is closed for a fiesta) Pray that we will be able to have it at the preschool this week and they will not decide to take the week off of school for fiestas or protests.

Thankful

Sitting here in the internet cafe, thinking about what to title this blog and the word that came to my mind is Thankful. I am so Thankful to be here in Peru. There are many reasons I am so Thankful.

First, it is awesome to be able to be used by God. Lately, I have seen in just little ways how we can be used by God daily whether we are in a foreign country serving Him or at home serving Him he always places opportunities and people in our lives to show His love. Many of you know that I am a pretty extroverted person, I love talking to people and building relationships. Latley it has been a bit difficult here in Peru, since my Spanish is not the best. I was getting a little discouraged thinking that people were not getting to know me because of the language barrior. Although, I realized that just through a simple smile, saying ¨hola¨ or even trying to teach English to a class full of people who speak very little God uses it and I am so thankful. Thankful that He uses me, even though I have flaws and imperfections. What a beautiful picture of His love.

Second, I am so thankful for the relationships I have here in Peru and at home. There is nothing like being able to spill your heart out to the people who love you most and know that they love you. I am thankful for the bond that the Lord has placed with me, Maggie, and Andrea and what an amazing support system they are to me. I am thankful for Pastor Ruban and his family and their continued friendship here in Peru. I am thankful for the Grady´s for asking for Summer Missionaries through the BCM and thier support and mentorship here in Peru. I am thankful for the relationships we have begun building here and I am thankful from my family and friends at home for their encouragment of me being here. I am thankful.

Third, I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed with a life full of experiences to serve him and have fun! SO, with that being said and my little spill on thankfulness here is an update of the big happenings of this week---

This week we have continued our ESL classes. They are going well and the students really seem to enjoy it. The kids class has been a challenge but we have come to learn a lot about ministering during this class. We played a game on Thursday with them where they had to get the flash card right in order to try and shoot a basket for their team and they really enjoyed it and it seemed to help them with their English. We are praying that they begin to want to know more about the Lord through the Bible stories we share at the end of class.

The Adult ESL class is a blast. They all love learning English and we can tell they really want to be in class. We played the same game with them to review this week and had a great time! They are quite competitive, especially since they were playing for a prize (American candy). I can´t help but smile and laugh through out the adult class it is so fun to teach! They all are also very into hearing the Bible story at the end of class and all love sharing their two cents on what the liked about the story. Also, on Saturday we played volleyball with about 8 people from our adult ESL class. Let´s just say Peruvians are amazing at volleyball and me, Maggie and Andrea not so much. We had a blast though and it was great to hangout with them outside of class. Pray that these relationships continue to build and that we are able to share more with these students!

One relationship that is really sparking is one with a girl from our ESL class Rosmmy. She has grown quite fond of us enough to buy us some leg warmers in Juilica when she went to get some items for her mom´s store here in Huancane. She is super sweet and said she had been saving her money to buy them for us! We invited her over for supper that night, which was homemade pizza. The pizza turned out amazing and Rosmmy said she had been waiting 2 years to eat pizza again! It was great to be able to just hangout with her and bless her as she had blessed us!

On Wednesday, Andrea and I traveled to Moho with John (the full time missionary here) and Conima to check in on the other collegiate missions teams that are out there. It was about an hour ride out to Moho and John took us the scenic way. It was curvy and bumpy but the view was absoultley beautiful! We got to see Lake Titicaca from all different view points and took some awesome pictures! God´s creation here in Peru is so unbeliveable. The lake seems to go on forever and it is so blue. In the word´s of Andrea, ¨It should not be called Lake Titicaca but an Ocean¨. We also really enjoyed seeing the team in Moho and the little town of Moho. The Moho team gave us a tour and we got to see where they are doing ministry. We had some fun playing on a playground and getting some pictures with some pretty cool Llmas! We also went out to Conima which is about another 20 minutes from Moho. The Conima team is doing great and I can´t wait to see what God does there. Conima is beautiful, it is right on Lake Titicaca, so let´s just say the Conima team gets a pretty awesome view of the Lake everyday! We are planing another trip to Moho and Conima again, since Maggie was a little sick and didn´t get to go with us! We missed her and we felt like a part of us was missing since she was unable to come.

Upon arriving back in Huancane on Wednesday night, we ate a quick dinner and then went to the church service across town. Pastor Ruban asked me to share the Genesis 3story again about Adam and Eve and the fall. The service went well and it was great to be in the company of believers. I always enjoy singing the Spanish worship songs! After church, we hung out more with Ruban and his family. It was a special custom in town that night to burn a fire outside your house because it is supposably the coldest day of the year. So Ruban, burned some wood right outside his door and Louisa made us chocalatada (homemade hot chocolate). It is so good we have had it 2 more times since Wednesday haha. It was a fun night to just hangout and spend with them.

Friday, the Moho team came to get some rest in Huancane. It was a treat to see them 2 times in one week. We got to enjoy their company swap stories about our Peruivan lives. John even set up the DVD player in our house and we got to watch the Blind Side which was so fun. It was nice to watch something in English and feel a little at home. Saturday, we went to Juilica with the Moho team and picked up some grocheries that we needed from the ¨American like¨grochery store. We also went to Topac which is like a big market in Juilica. The Moho team bought some stuff there and then we headed back. We watched the USA vs. Ghana soccer game and ate some lunch. We were all very sad to see the US loose especially in overtime.
Maggie, Andrea, and I also tried to make our homemade pizza for the Moho team as a special treat. Let´s just say for some reason our whole doubling the recipe didn´t really work out and we were pretty sad about that too. We can´t seem to figure out what went wrong but the pizza was pretty doughy to say the least no matter how long we cooked it. We wished it would have turned out like it did for us the first time we made it when we made it for Rosmmy but for some reason something went wrong. It was our first cooking fail in Peru and hopefully the last. haha. Dough just doesn´t cook the same here in the high altitude, and I guess since we made more then the first time something just didn´t work out right. But other than that our cooking has been fabulous here and we have enjoyed our meals that we make from scratch! We then helped the Moho team get a bus back to Moho this morning and said goodbye until hopefully the fourth of July we will get to see them again.

Well that is pretty much the highlights of the week. Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I love y´all so much!

HH CREW

Well, it now has been 3 weeks in Peru! I called this blog post the HH CREW because that is what Maggie, Andrea and me have named ourselves. We are called the HH CREW because we live in the Huancane House. We are getting very settled into life here. We get up early and go to bed fairly early just like the people here in Huancane. We clean our house on Saturdays, because nothing in town is open and on Sundays we go out into the market get some things that we need. The town is crazy on Sundays. We make all home made meals for dinner. The majority of the time we buy a full chicken and have to cut the breast off of it. We go out in the morning and buy the food we will need for that day. We get fresh vegies everyday and disinfect them and they are delicious! Life here is so simple and I love it!

We started our ESL classes this week and they were a big success! Thank you for the prayers! We had more the enough people sign up and even had to turn people away because they are full! We have started building relationships with the people here and are growing pretty attached already. We all absoultely adore Pastor Ruban and his family. They are a big encouragement to us and we try to be to them as well.
On Monday, Pastor Ruban´s wife Louisa took us to Juilica which an hour bus ride from Huancane just to show us around and take us shopping. She is super sweet. On Friday we had their family over dinner and cooked a home made chicken recipe it was so good and the company was so fun!

A team of college students from Texas also arrived this week and had their orientation here in Huancane. It is 5 girls and 1 boy. They will be living and working in the town of Conima which is about an hour away from here. They are really sweet and I know God is really going to work in them. The HH CREW was rather brave with the Conima team and decided to hike the mountain again with them on Thursday. We still can´t believe that we did it again. This time though we decided to do it as a team and help each when we needed encouragement. It was a great team bonding experience and we were so thrilled when we reached the top together!! We took some awesome team pics again and learned the importance of having people to lean on. God sure has taught us a lot through that mountain the two times we have hiked it. This time was not nearly as bad as the first since we had adjusted to the altitude.

We also have been building a relationship with a 17 year old girl named Rosmmy. We are praying for opened doors with her and that we also can get to know other girls her age and hopefully start a Bible Storying group with some girls.

We also talked to Sonia today about starting a women´s ministry outreach group at the church where we can do cooking lessons! So please be praying for that as well.

Life here in Huancane, Peru is awesome and the roomies and I are loving it! Thanks for all your prayers and support! I love you all so much!

2 Weeks Tomorrow

2 weeks tomorrow since I left the states for Peru. I am so grateful that God has brought me here and provided me with the opportunity to serve him here. This week has been quite eventful.

Andrea, Maggie and I started off the week by advertising for our ESL classes. We passed on flyers in the Sunday Market which is when everyone from Huancane and surrounding towns come out to sale things. The town is crazy but full of so much life on Sundays!

Monday we spent the morning with the missionary, Sonia, and her boys Jacob and Samuel. Jacob is almost 2 and Samuel is 3 and a half and he goes to preschool here in Huancane 3 times a week and Sonia also homes schools him. All of the schools had a parade on Monday because it was Flag Day in Peru. It was really intersting to see how much the people love parades here. We spent the afternoon studying our Spanish stories.

Tuesday we played basketball with some local boys and were able to start building a relationship with them. It was so fun even though I am not the best basketball player we were able to hang out with them and have a blast.

Wednesday we helped Sonia prepare for the medical team to arrive. We helped her make 50 sandwhiches and the med team was very appreciative to have American like lunches on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday we helped with the med clinic in a town called Patascachi. In January Patascachi was covered in water and over 500 families lost everything in a flood. So we had a med clinic for them with a team in Georgia. I worked in the eye clinic yesterday, and many of the people just wanted glasses just because, many of them had perfect eyes but just thought the glasses were cool and well probably never had glasses before so they wanted them really bad. We gave out tons of sunglasses to the people who didn´t need eye glasses but then when we ran out of those the people just wanted real eye glasses even if they didn´t need them. So needless to say it became a little crazy near the end of the day. We felt as though many of them were pertending to have eye problems just to get some glasses. We tried to explain to them that it would make their eyes worse but they didn´t understand. I couldn´t blame them for wanted the glasses since they thought they were neat and never had them before. So, I came to the conclusion the best way to show them Christ´s love was to just give them to them anyway. SO be praying they end up not liking the glasses so their eyes don´t go bad.

Today, we ran out of glasses so I just hung out with the kids and played with them. I played some soccer with them and also taught a cute group of little girls how to play frisbee. I am glad that I was able to be used by God even though I don´t have medical skills.

Prayer Request--
-The med team leaves tomorrow to go back to GA
-ESL class sign ups tomorrow
-Memeorizes Spanish Bible Story

I love you so much!

The Hike up The GIANT MOUNTAIN

This is from yesterday...

Today, we woke up at 4am to go climb the tallest mountain in Huancane. We wanted to see the sun rise so we set out! It was dark and cold as we began our ascent. As we just started the altitude really began to hit me. My heart was pounding and would not stop racing. It was very hard to breath. The locals walk it to pray to the cross. There are stations of the cross although the people here claim to be Catholic but they worship the actual cross and other idols. They don't know the truth so they hike the mountain to try and gain blessings. As I continued to hike I wondered if I would make it up to the top. It was a struggle rocks were about half the size of me and I could not stop breathing heavy. As I hiked I began to talk to God. I knew it was only his strength and encouragement that would get me up the mountain. I had no one else to lean on because all of us started hiking the mountain at our own pace. So it was just me and Jesus on the way up. He kept telling me that I could do all things through him, the son by Third Day, Mountain of God and kept praying through my head "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". This hike was the hardest thing I have ever done physically. Yet, it was one of the best times I have ever had with my Lord and Savior. Feeling his strength, being in his creation was amazing. I finally reached the top and the view was unbelievable. There was a huge white cross at the top overlooking the mountains. You could see Lake Titicaca the biggest Lake in Peru and the city of Huancane. The surrounding mountains, lake, and city were beautiful. We prayed at the top for the people of Huancane as a group. The hike was hard and a struggle although as John the missionary here said that is was a good analogy to our summer and how it is going to be hard and a struggle at times but what the Lord does through us is going to be so worth it. It was a life changing experience hiking the Huancane Mountain.

After hiking we had simple church where 4 team members shared their testimonies. It was beautiful to see how the Lord has moved in their lives and it brought tears to my eyes. God is really uniting us and making us a family and I am so grateful.

WE then had to say goodbye to Tim, Mindy, Jessica, and Jeremy as they left for Moho. We really are going to miss them and will be praying for their work in Moho.

We then had some lunch and then took a nap because we were exhausted from the hike.

Then we met with Sonia and figured out some things for our ESL classes. We will be teaching a kids class and young adult class twice a week as well as a VBS at the preschool here.

Here are some prayer request:
-Building meaningful relationships with people here in Huancane
-ESL classes and that people will sign up
-VBS at the preschool
-Medical Clinic (starts Sun in Moho and goes to Tues and then we will help with one here in Huancane Thursday and Friday next week)
-Language Barrior- I will be telling Bible stories in Spanish and also just talking with people in general here in Spanish

Thanks so much for the prayers! I love you all!!