A taste of Febuary

Some mornings when I wake up, I have to think for a min. and remind myself that I am here in Peru. It still constantly blowing my mind, and I LOVE IT! 

I am in a place of where I am more comfortable with my Peruvian Spanish, I know where I live and which buses and taxis to take to get me there, and I am overall beginning to feel very much at home. The rest of January was nice. I spent most of my time meeting different students from the CBU ministry that I will be working with and brushing up my Spanish with my tutor. A lot of students are out of town for summer vacation, so I have not even met everyone yet. 

I posted a video clip on Facebook last night of me on a zip line! The coolest thing about it is, that was in someones backyard! They are a ministry site for kids through a different missions organization. At the bottom you can see some more pictures. 

Now for February and the beginning of March you may not be hearing much from me in my blog. I will be at Campamento la Joya, which is a local Christian Summer Camp. I will be there from the 8th-12th. A lot of the students that will be there are 17-21 years old, and either just entering the university, have been there for a few years, or will be starting in a couple of years. I am so excited! Be praying that I have endless amounts of energy! :) 

Then on the 17th-21st I will be going with a local church to the beach for a retreat. It will be such a great time getting to know the people of the church better, as well as the leaders of CBU. (This church is the main supporting church for CBU.) 

Then on March 1st-9th I will be going to Lima to visit other ministries happening there. So I will be super busy. Prayers are so appreciated for my energy level over this next month. Here are a few pictures from this past month! 

Up until now....

Oh my goodness.

Can I say oh my goodness again? Hahaha.

The last week and three days have felt like a whirlwind.

From the moment I have landed I have not stopped. (Well, I have had some opportunities to rest, and I am thankful for that.) I landed in Lima at 12:30am on the 4th with just enough time to sleep for a few hours before I got up an went to Interpol to begin my application for residency. They checked my teeth and took my finger prints. Hahaha. I am thankful that I am able to already speak Spanish, because the process was much easier.

Then a few hours after, I got on a bus and went to the beach until January 8th. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know the missionaries around me, who would be my Peruvian support and family. It was a great conference and so full of community and great messages from our German speaker!

I then had a few days in Lima to explore and relax, and then I headed to Arequipa. Our flight ran two hours late, so that was a little frustrating and crazy, but that is Latin America sometimes. I so love the culture, and I have to remind my North American brain that I am in Peru and the rhythm of life is so much different. I love it and nor is it wrong, just different.

I am in the process of getting settled in Arequipa, and it is a beautiful city. I still have much to unpack and I am learning where everything is. As excited as I am, there are moments where I am so tired, and have to force myself to rest. I have this thing called FOMO (The Fear of Missing Out) and have to fight myself for time to rest. That term btw was borrowed from Steph Lane. Such an accurate and good one.

For now, here are a few pictures of my last several days, and I will be getting out a more detailed update on how I am doing.

Besotes y abrazotes

Laura