Blessed

So although I'm in America, this journey isn't over. This is actually my first night to myself to just sit and think about how God's remained faithful and gracious towards me this last year. Blows my mind. Tonight I just want to share a little bit of this with you!

I got home last Saturday, and I start work this Monday. This is a huge deal.  I was terrified leaving Peru without a job. I spent HOURS every day looking for jobs in Nashville my last couple months in Lima, and kept getting rejection emails. I didn't have enough experience, and speaking Spanish isn't a big deal anymore. So I finally decided to just stop looking and just trust the Lord would provide me a job when He wanted. Praise Him and that He wanted me to have one soon!

I start at Mercy Children's Clinic as one of their Front Office Receptionists, and I'm soo excited! This job is a perfect match for me right now. They're a Non-Profit ministry that serves all children in Williamson County, whether they have insurance or not. So I get missions, administration, babies, and Spanish all in one job. That's God's faithfulness my friend, and NOTHING of my own doing. 


Just wanted to brag on Him for a bit!

Ya te extraño, Peru

I leave this country for good tomorrow, and that weirds me out like no other. 

I like change, but this whole jumping into the unknown doesn't seem to tickle my fancy much.  It builds my faith in God and His promises, which I'm assuming is why he's sending me back without knowing anything about my future.  It's just a new kind of adventure.

Speaking of adventures, I've had the awesome opportunity to go on many adventures in the last 10 months.  I won't share them all with you know, but I do want to share what I will and will not miss about life in this crazy town (I know this may seem so random, but all week I've been walking around saying to myself "I won't miss this" and "Aww man I'm going to miss this!).

I will miss...
Cheap public transportation
Cremoladas
Fresh bread every morning
Walking everywhere
The Llorenses
Living on the beach
Visits to the orphanage
Patty Arroyo
Arturo Tovar
Erika Beltran
Santiago Tapia
$5 meals at Chilis
Trips to Pamplona
Ice Cream before trips to Pamplona
Spanish
Speaking Spanglish and everyone understanding it
The Olsons
My church
The stairs on the beach
My daily faces I see while running
Mountains
Adventures with Tammy
Cheap prices

I will not miss...
Men whistling at me no matter if I'm wearing shorts or 5 pairs of sweat pants
Putting on shoes while doing laundry so i don't get shocked
Fish smells
Pig smells
Poop smells
Poop on babies, poop on the streets, your poop, my poop, poop in general
Throwing all toilet paper away
Combies
Standing with 95 of my fellow Peruvians on a bus while 5 more get on
Bad logic
Taxis preventing me from crossing the street
Taxis profiling me
Taxis offering me a ride while I'm running and obviously have no money on me
Pollution
Car alarms


America, be nice to me please!

We Run Lima

I'd like to tell you all a wonderful story...

Pre-story:

For the past 6 months Tammy and I have been exercising. This is a big deal for several reasons: 1. We go at 6 am Monday-Friday. 2. We've progressed a whole stinking lot since we started in October. 3. The accountability between us keeps us both going because neither of us would do this sola.  BUT we're going to complete 10 laps this Thursday/Friday, which is meeting our goal. So whoop whoop!

Story:
In October or November Nike hosted a 10K called "We Run Lima".  At that time I could walk up 250 stairs at a decent pace, but that was it. Needless to say, I did not participate in this event.  BUT I SHOULD HAVE! They gave away the most awesome T-shirts. They're orange Nike Dry Fit shirts & say "We Run Lima", and just pure awesomeness that I have had to see people wear every stinkin' day since then!  I've said atleast 15 kazillion times "I WANT THAT SHIRT!!"  So Tammy and I crafted a plan to get one.

We always said that we were going to take 20 US dollars and another T-shirt to the beach in the morning and offer to buy/trade shirts with some random person. Sounds like a golden plan doesn't it?! Yeah it does!

Well, 6 months later, I still had no shirt. Time is running out!  They had us a going away party last Wednesday, and Tammy and Tony started it with a gift for each of us.  I was totes not expecting a We Run Lima shirt, but that's totes what I got!

Tammy and Tony went to Wong that afternoon and when they came back, Tammy saw a man with that shirt. I believe her exact words were "Tony! That's Gerica's shirt! Go get it!!" And he did.  He walked up to this guy, who just happened to be a lawyer, and began to talk to him about his shirt. Then he asked if he could have it, and the lawyer man looked real confused.  Then Tony offered him $20 dollars and another T-shirt, and he agreed. He walked with them to their apartment and changed shirts and collected his money! *Side note: He had tattoos and muscles. And my shirt still smells like him after 2 washings!* 

My friend Patty's mom said this was all for love. My love for the shirt. Tammy's love for me. Tony's love for Tammy. And the lawyer's love for some money!

Moral of the story: Take chances. Or at least make friends who take chances! You may get an awesome shirt and a cool story!

 

It's that time...

It's time to reflect, and may I say that I do not like this time.  I know it's good to reflect on everything God's done in me this past year, but it makes leaving more difficult.  So instead of doing that now, I'm going to make a list of things that I want to do before I leave. Maybe I'll actually do them if people hold me accountable!

1. Love on those orphans as much as I can in the last 3 times I see them!
2. Take at least 50 more photos.
3. Hang out with Erika and ONLY speak in Spanish.
4. Run 10 laps around the park by the beach.
5. Exercise every (weekday) morning that I have left.
6. Dance on a crowded bus, and document it.
7. Learn. Learn. LEARN about what the Father's got planned.
8. Find a job!!
9. Pray without ceasing.
10. Love people, even when it's difficult.
11. Go to the good bakery on Wilson at least 3 more times.
12. Make another Pinterest craft.
13. Get interpreters assigned to trips through the end of May.
14. Eat at the red roof menú.
15. Go back to Barrio china.
16. Not cry when I leave.
17. Find out what the lawyers at the shady law office really do.
18. Go to Minka.
19. Memorize at least half of Romans 8.
20. Get a "We Run Lima" shirt.

Let's see if all this happens :)