A long way from home

Where do I even begin? I suppose I will just say “Thank you” for being so patient with me since it has been nearly three weeks since I have last updated you all on my travels and experiences. And what a whirlwind these past few weeks have been too!
The six days in Dallas flew by more quickly than I imagined, and I’m still pretty impressed with how much we packed into those six days  Armed with a giant shopping list and two suitcases of dirty laundry, I arrived at DFW Monday evening after my original flight from Houston to Dallas was canceled due to weather. But I arrived safe and sound with all of my luggage (praise God for those small graces!). The week was spent with family and friends in Dallas, shopping and replacing items that wore out while in Costa Rica, re-packing, and eating a lot of delicious food. Mom outdid herself in making sure I got all of my favorites before leaving again. It was difficult to divide my time between all of my loved ones, especially since Jason was able to come down with my parents, and I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could while home. We were blessed to be able to attend Jason’s nephew’s 2nd birthday party while in Dallas, which was so much fun and a wonderful opportunity to spend time with his family. But by my last night there, I was wishing that I had a couple of more days – but then I suppose if I did have a couple more days I would just wish for a couple more after that, so I suppose God works all these things out for the best, and Sunday night I prepared to say goodbye a second time and board a plane that would take me a long way from home.

On May 4th I flew from Dallas to Miami, then on to Lima and arrived in Peru at 10:00pm. I had so many people praying for me as I passed through customs, which always makes me a little nervous. In Peru they use this random traffic light system where, after you’ve picked up all of your luggage, you pass through another line until you reach this post with a red and a green light. You push the button and if the light shines green you can pass through and make your way to the airport exit. If the light shines red, you are escorted off to the side to have your luggage searched. Thank you all who were praying for a green light for me, because after packing my luggage to the brim, I was worried that if they searched through it at the airport, I wouldn’t get everything packed back into my suitcases  But again, the little graces from our Lord – I received all of my luggage, (3 suitcases, a backpack and a computer case) loaded it up onto a cart, passed through the line and received a green light. Meredith McAllister my teammate was there waiting for me when I exited the airport, along with Bethany Leach, a short-term intern that has been with the mission for the past two months. We loaded my stuff into a taxi and made the journey back to the apartment I will be sharing with Meredith and our two Peruvian roommates for the next 2-3 months.

When I had informed Meredith of my flight details a month ago, she warned me that they had already planned on making the six hour trip to Tarma the day after I arrived. So long story short, I got “home” around 11:30pm Monday night, had time to repack my duffle, went to bed, and at 8:00am Tuesday we were on the bus to Tarma. I feel like “whirlwind” is the adjective I will use to describe these few days I have spent in Peru. We were in Tarma from Tuesday thru Thursday, meeting with the people Meredith has gotten to know from here many trips there, teaching English classes, and looking for leads on potential apartments. Because we didn’t have internet, it has taken me a lot longer to get my blog updated for you all. While it was crazy to arrive in this new country and right away make a three day trip six hours from Lima, I was really thankful for the chance to visit the city where our ministry will be focused. I quickly fell in love with this quaint little town that reminded me so much of Lincoln. Obviously the culture and appearance is about as different as you can get from Lincoln, but the size of the city, the small-town feel was a breath of fresh air after living in San Jose (population 1 million) and now Lima (population 9 million). I am excited to get settled and begin our ministry. The next few months will be transition months as little by little we get ourselves from here to there. We got back from Tarma Thursday around 4:30pm and the last couple of days have been spent getting acclimated to the city, meeting the pastors of the ADIEL (the Evangelical Free Churches of Lima), getting meetings set up and learning about the ministry. I will admit that these last couple of days has been information overload for me, but after this weekend things will settle down and hopefully I will be able to catch up with myself. Part of the problem is that Bethany Leach (the intern) has been living in the room that will be mine, but she doesn’t leave until next Tuesday to go back home – so I have been sleeping on the couch and living out of my suitcases. I tend to like to settle and organize myself, so until I can unpack and settle into my room – my brain and life feels cluttered and unorganized and it is harder for me to be at peace because I have this big thing that needs doing, but I can’t do it yet. Does that make any sense? Maybe I’m a little weird here.

Overall, the week has gone well, and quickly too. I am so thankful that I am finally in the place that I have talked about going for so long. God was and is so faithful to bring me every step of the way, to provide for my needs and to grace me with His love and affirmation. I look forward to keeping you posted (more regularly) on the coming weeks as I get more settled here. Thank you all for your many prayers and your emails of encouragement.

In Him,
Bethany