Is This Real Life?

As I sit here in my air conditioned house, on my big, comfy, brown couch, things are getting real.  Only one more day in Greenfield. One more day to say goodbye to people.  One more day to enjoy the luxuries of washing machines, dish washers, air conditioners, heaters, unlimited electricity and water access.  One more day of playing with Snuggles and Cuddles.  One more day of hanging out with Chip.  One more day of driving to the bank, then Sonic.  One more meal at El Vallarta. One more dinner around the kitchen table.  One more day of throwing Gato out of my room.  One more day at home. 

With all this, it also means six more days of family time.  Six more days in extreme Florida heat.  Six more days with my sister and her family.  Six more days of being spoiled rotten on vacation.  Six more days of 9 people sharing 2 bathrooms.  Six more days at a pool (finally!). 

And then, a year of adventure.   A year apart from my family. A year apart from Brucey.  A year apart from my friends.  A year without late night chats at Drew and Bethany's. A year financially dependent on others. A year away from America.  A year of new friendships, new foods, new places. A year without sweet tea.  A year re-building past relationships.  A year of intense Spanish. 
A year of challenges. A year of excitement and joy. A year of sadness and anxiety. A year of compassion. A year of trusting the Lord. A year of Him being my strength.  A year drawing near to Him, sharing Him, leaning on Him for everything.  A year of miracles.  A year of heart changes.  A year of love. A year of grace. A year of faith. A year of dependence.  A year of beauty.  A year simply basking in the arms of my Savior, and doing anything I can to make much of Him.  A year of praise. 



As I reflect this week, many things enter my crazy mind.  This journey that I am about to embark on, that I am called to do, is going to be life changing.  I remember leaving for college thinking "everything is about to change".  The same is true when I left for Peru in 2009: "Life itself is going to be different after this".  While this is a terrifying thought, because we all love the comfortable side of life, I can't help but look at the big picture, that we are all called to something.  God has given us all specific talents and desires of the heart that He knows will bring all the glory to Him.  This involves change, the different, the unknown.  Following the Lord isn't easy, or necessarily fun all the time.  It's difficult and scary.  Frankly, I'm scared to death of getting on that plane on the 16th, but I know the Lord's got me in His big ole hands, and He is not going to let me go.  I pray that I don't forget that, and that this next year God will break me to pieces and build me back up to be stronger in Him. 

If you're reading this, I covet your prayers.  I covet the prayers of everyone you know.  I need you all. In return, I promise to keep you updated on what the Lord is doing in Peru.  For those who don't like to read, I promise to upload pictures when possible.  :)

Let's do this.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to the bestest (and only) mom I've ever had!  She's a babe, and, thanks to her favorite kids, she will be oh so stylish with her new Chacos! Chicka chicka yeah!  All the months of pregnancy paid off!  Now you get the good gifts! 

No really, thanks mom for being so great.  I shall list some reasons why you're great. Ahem:

1. You birthed a princess! (Me)

2.  You talk to me at work every day.

3.  You introduced me to Butterbraids.

4.  You make my favorite breakfast every time I come home.

5.  You not only have a cat, but you love it.  That shows a HUGE heart!

6.  You cuddle with me!

7. You teach me to be myself & not worry with what everyone else says/thinks.

8. You're feisty!
9.  You're strong, and can still take Chip down anytime, anywhere.
10.  You spelled my name with a G even though that wasn't the plan.
11.  You're hot stuff.  Good thing I look just like ya!
12.  You're YOU!  My Mom :)

Basically, I love you.  You're the best, and I'm glad you're my mom.  You're my best friend.  Sorry I didn't call today! 

Blog Numero Dos

I'm sooo creative. Can't you tell?  One day I'll be really creative & think of a cool blog title...

Anywho, there's several things on my mind tonight. Number one being that tomorrow is my last day as an undergraduate. WHAT! Yep, you read that right! I'm turning into an old fart now! The degree will be in my hand & hung on a wall sooner than we know it!  The past four years has flown by. Wayy faster than high school ever did.  I won't get into the mushy gushy-ness of the growing up & relationship building part of college, but please know, the best friends of my life were made in the past four years, and i love you all! Yes, even you reading this! (unless you're a creepy stalker).

Secondly, I'm sooo glad these storms are dunzo.. at least for now.  My heart aches for Alabama, which is weird for any UT heart to do.  But in all seriousness, God is good, and all this work together for His purpose, and He will be glorified through this.  Lets remember to keep all the victims in our prayers.  On a lighter note, my lil car took a beating last night.  Look!

If ya cant tell, under the leaves shes got a bijillion lil dings & a cracked windshield.  Luckily, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. And by there I mean here! :D

Now for Peru. I'm still extremely nervous & have a whole lot to do. I'm hoping that after graduation I'll have some time to be a grown up & tie up all of the loose ends.  I leave in a little over a month & a half though. CRAZY!   Still praying for funds to come & to come on a steady basis while I'm there. Not gonna lie, living on that faith is going to be a struggle.  I'm an independent, two job working kind of girl.  Dependence on others is such a struggle & lesson even here in the US.  I'm gonna put a little paypal thing on the side of my bog if you'd like to give financially through it.  It's fast and easy (if i figure out how to do it, that is!)



Last, but certainly not least, this stud muffin is moving back to Knoxville tomorrow, and I couldn't be more excited!

Hehe. He may hate me after he sees that, but who cares! He hasn't read my last blog yet anyways! For all you who don't know, this is Brucey. You may call him Aaron if you really want.  He's moving back to Knoxville from his internship in Nashvegas tomorrow. Well, it's 30 minutes til midnight, so he's basically moving back TODAY!! Ahh! Get Excited!

What up!

After a semester of completely wasting my time in Marketing 468, I decided to use the last class time wisely and create my first blog!  I mean really, Sales Force Management at 5:05pm is just an awful idea.  All God's people said... AMEN!

If you're reading this, you probably have heard more than enough about my future adventure to Peru.  Well this week, things got real.  I bought the plane ticket.  As exciting as this planning process has been, everything just seems so much more serious now.  I'm for real leaving the country June 16, 2011 and not returning until April 2012.  About 10 seconds after hitting "Submit Purchase", the fear, nerves, and anxiety set in.  "Be anxious for nothing" is so easy to say and tell to others who are struggling, but so hard to actually do.  I pray that in the weeks to come that my heart remains calm and recalls ole Matthew 6:34 and Psalms 46:10 when I get overwhelmed.

In all the excitement and anxiety, I've found out much more about my time in Peru that I'd like to share with you.  I've learned that everything is subject to change, but an open heart, mind, and flexibility are key to being a missionary.  As for now, I think I'll be living in the city of Cusco, Peru with a recent graduate of Southwestern Theological Seminary.  We will be continuing the ESL program in Cusco as well as overseeing the logistics of short-term teams coming in from the US. I'm super excited about anything dealing with logistics & helping teams get from one place to another. Maybe this degree I'm earning (not paying attention in class at this very second) will come in handy!  I'm also excited about the relationship building in Cusco.  When people ask my favorite thing about my last trip to Peru, I almost always say "Gloria".  She was the lady that I built the strongest relationship with, worked in her restaurant, and just grew to love!  Her and all the people in Vilcas Huaman stole my heart 2 summers ago, and I cannot wait to get back to visit with them and begin & develop new relationships.

The Lord has really been teaching concept of "love" this year. Not the romantic, mushy gushy, "I love you forever" kind of love, but Christ-like love, and loving people even when you don't want to.  Sometime in 2010, my heart was hardened to many people and situations.  I felt like a bitter lil ole cat lady who didn't trust or really like anyone who had ever hurt me in the slightest bit.  It was AWFUL! I'm a joyful, bubbly, crazy person, and this bitterness drove me crazy! Needless to say, the Lord kinda rocked my world a lil bit & challenged me to begin to love like Him.  That means forgiveness, which is tough stuff btw, and an open heart.  But the Lord is faithful! and now when I get frustrated, I just say to myself "love 'em like Jesus" and it get better. 

Basically, this has been a crazy awesome year of re-falling in love with the Lord and learning to love others like He loves us, and I'm super excited to be able to serve Him in Peru in a couple of months!  Until then, and once I'm there of course, I covet your prayers.  Pray that God will continue to prepare my heart for what He's going to do in and through me. Pray for the Peruvian people and that they'll be open to "los gringos".  Pray for my family as they go through this transition of letting me go & that they feel the peace and excitement that the Lord has given me. Lastly, pray for the financial support coming in. 

I wanted to update everyone on that, since I've received many questions about it.  Funds are low-ish right now.  I found a plane ticket for under 300, and I just bought it out of pocket.  I don't know exactly how much money has been raised, but I think its around $1,000-ish at this point (everything is being sent to Bethlehem Baptist Church, Greenfield TN ).  If you aren't aware, I'm looking to raise about $12,000 each year I'm there. I'd like to have about $2,000-$2,500 when I leave in order to have some stability when initially looking for an apartment, applying for a long term visa, and traveling from city to city. I know that's a lot, and I've worked 2 jobs all semester to try to put as much into this as I can and lighten the burden for those called to give.  However the Lord does call people to give if they aren't called to go, and if 50 people pledge to give $20 each month, that would be more than enough!   Think of how easily we throw away money!  $20 a month is giving up 2 meals at El Vallarta, or your daily McDonald's sweet tea, or one less date to the movies!  If you haven't already, I'd like to ask you to at least pray about supporting the Lord's work in Peru.  

Again, I covet your prayers and support through this exciting time and I can't wait to share the next few years with you on my new blog :)

    
This is just one of my favorite spots in Vilcas Huaman.  The mountains are breathtaking!

"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!”  Isaiah 52:7