Home Sweet Home

Hola!! Our last week was so sad in Bella Union! On Thursday, our new church family had a going away party for us. We told them not to but of course they insisted. They cooked us chicken and french fries! YUM! They were all so sweet! It was hard to leave, but I´m glad to be going home. We came back to Lima today...back to civilization!! HA HA I´ll be in sweet home Alabama on Friday afternoon! YAY!!!

I just want to say thank you so much to everyone for all the love and prayers! Mom and Dad tell me that everyone is constantly asking about me. It is such a joy to know that I have a wonderful church family and amazing friends!

Tienes fe como un grano de mostaza...staza...

HOLA!!! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! This week was pretty much the same as we have been doing...Bible Study´s and church. Church was great last Sunday. We had about 15 people.

We decided to go to the ¨beach¨ in Lomas on Thursday. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience...and I will NEVER go back!! HA HA It was disgusting!! I wouldn´t even eat at the restaurant it was so awful! So much for our beach trip!

I´m a little sad though! We only have one week left here!!! We are leaving next Friday afternoon to head back to Lima with a few stops on the way. I´m very excited to see everyone, but at the same time this has been my home for 2 months. Please keep our last week in your prayers. Pray especially for the believers in Bella Union. Pray that they will continue to do Bible Study´s and come to church long after we´re gone!! I just want to praise God for blessing our ministry and the people here!! May He be lifted up always!!!

Hola

Hey ya´ll!! So how about I had my first earthquake experience this week. I definitely woke up at 4 one morning because of the tremors. That was pretty interesting.

We had a great church service on Sunday. We are averaging about 15 people every week! YAY!! How exciting! On Monday, Pastor Amias showed a video and we had 20 people attend. It was a ventriliquist act, and I think it was pretty funny...I´m not really sure since I don´t speak much Spanish. HA HA The people seemed to like it.

We continued visiting people and doing Bible Study´s this week. We passed out flyers at the Ag Institute for a Bible Study tonight at 630 but nobody came! I´m sad about that, but maybe we can go back and try again. Just continue to pray for these last few weeks. God still has work for us to do here.

SMT08 BU Part 2

Hola!!! I´m so excited about this second half of the summer!! We arrived back in Bella Union Tuesday with the Creative Ministry Team. The CMT did sketches, songs, and puppets for the preschool, elementary school, high school, and Ag Institute. A teacher at the high school wants me to come back and teach English. Hopefully that will work out because that would be a great opportunity not only to learn more Spanish but to show the love of Christ through me. When we went back to the Ag Institute, 19 people made a profession of faith!! How awesome is that!!!

It´s funny how God puts people in your path. The first day we got back, 2 guys driving back to Acari stopped and asked if they could come back and talk with us. Those 2 men were saved that night. They came back 2 nights in a row for us to share with them. God is just continuing to show His power.

Michael and I went for a walk one morning. He was telling me about how this village had been so unreceptive to the past missionaries. I´m blessed that I get to be the one to see this egg cracked! I´m really falling in love with the people in this village! I´m excited to see what is going to happen this last month. I don´t think I´m going to want to come back...but I will...don´t worry Mom and Dad!! HA HA

Yo soy muy feliz...

Hey ya´ll!! This has been such an awesome week. The team from Porter Memorial Baptist Church came on Sunday...shout out to my peeps from Kentucky and Alabama! HA HA (I know they all miss me already!!) They were such an encouragement! Every one of them just had an amazing passion for God and sharing the Word. I´m so excited about the impact that they had on the people here and in my own life.

We had our first church service last Sunday night. There were 14 people that came! It was a great message and a great time of fellowship in the Lord. Another door was opened for us on Wednesday. There is an agricultural institute right outside of town, and they invited us to speak. The kids were very open during discussion time and a girl was saved! Also, we had 3 days of VBS for the kids. I led the music for this too...Mr. Garner better watch out! HA HA jk Those 3 days went great! Tonight, the ladies had a tea for the women in the village. There is also another church service Sunday night. I wish I could be there but Michael and I are in Nasca for our mid-summer debriefing. We will return on Tuesday with the Creative Ministry Team. We are hoping to take them back to the agricultural institute to do some evangelism.

God is really working here in Bella Union and continuing to open doors for us. Just keep praying for these people, our ministry, our health, encouragement, and our church services. Also, pray for traveling mercies for both teams this week.

One more for Christ...

Hey everybody!! So this week has been pretty tough. I dealt with sickness this week. Some days are better than others. Nothing serious...just typical stuff. I found out that my roommate´s grandfather died. I was pretty upset that I wasn´t going to be able to be there for Court. Please pray for peace and comfort for this family. I, also, just found out that Miles´s grandmother had a stroke and she´s not doing good at all. Please pray for their family as well. I know this is hard for all of them.

I struggled with being homesick this week very bad. By the time Wednesday was here, I really just felt like packing up and coming home. Pastor Amias, who has been here with us all June, felt compelled to share with us a passage out of The Purpose Driven Life. It came at a timely moment. He talked about how our mission was to reach these people who have never heard, how we need to live our life trying to reach just one more for Christ. That´s when a peace just washed over me. That´s why I´m here....just one more for Christ. I didn´t really understand why I was called to be here when so much was happening back home. But now I realize that this is my mission...just one more for Christ!!

On a happier note we are having our first church service tomorrow night at 630!! I´m so excited!! The group from Kentucky and AL are coming also! Please pray for our service!! We had an interesting experience Sunday night. There was a big shindig in Acari, the next village, for Father´s Day. We went to see the kids dance. We actually walked to the village which took about an hour...no joke!! When we returned Sunday night there was nowhere to eat. Mama Beth made peanut butter and banana sandwiches on saltine crackers...true story! So if u ever have a craving...hit me up!!

My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty...

Hola!! So this week has been such a blessing. There were some times of discouragement and frustration but the Bible says in James 1 to ¨Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because u know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.¨ As I was doing my Bible study, this verse just kind of jumped out at me. As I was thinking about it, I realized just how true that is. Without trials, we would never learn to fully rely on God. This week has been somewhat of an eye opener for me. This culture is pretty laid back...which drives my dad crazy. Sometimes it gets frustrating but we just have to remember why we are here. We have had so many people come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this week. We began some discipleship training sessions with some of the believers. I´m so excited about what the Lord is doing here and in my own heart! We climbed a mountain today that was just outside of the city. I wish everyone of you could see just how beautiful the view was. At night, the stars are so amazing. There are no lights to block out the full beauty of them. I really do just stand in awe sometimes at just how amazing and wonderful our gracious God is. I never realized just how much I take for granted.

Greetings from Bella Union!

Hola!! So I´ve been here a week in Bella Union, Peru. It is located in south Peru. It is very dry here...it has never rained here...true story! It pretty much looks like the desert with lots of rocks. One side of the road has an irrigation canal and that is where lots of olives are grown! That is what this village is famous for...I did try some with pimento in them. Pretty good if I do say so myself! The food here is good. We do LOTS of walking. There are mountains around which are made just of sand. I think one day we are gonna try to climb one...seriously.

This week we have been trying to locate people who had previously made professions of faith. We have not had the best of luck. We did visit Señor Guido Quiroz´s house yesterday. We had some worship time and then Pastor Amias led us in a Bible Study. Today Jaime, Señor Quiroz´s son, came over and our teammember Jerry discipled him and answered questions for about 2 hours which is really exciting. I also led a Bible Study with one of the teenage girls today. It was interesting trying to explain in Spanish. I think it went really well. Racsel is coming back on Monday to do another Bible Study. I have been trying to build relationships with the teenage girls. Most everyday we go to the park and play with the kids. Last night was the school´s Homecoming Assembly. Jerry and I went to watch the girls bec they were doing some dances for the school. We also went to the Homecoming Parade today. One of our goals is to have a worship service Friday. I get to lead the worship...so pray for me! HA

One big thing that you all could pray for this week would be encouragement. We have not had the best of luck with finding people. It just seems like everything is happening very slow.

Love and miss ya´ll,
B

Almost there...

Hi everybody!! These past few days have been wonderful! On Wednesday, we split up into teams and had a scavenger hunt...my team won, of course! So I basically got in a lil sightseeing as well. Here are some of my adventures...1. Taxi drivers in Peru are CRAZY! There are hardly any traffic lights so everybody just honks the horn! 2. I got to slide down the pole at the firestation...ok I know not that big of an adventure but it was fun and Ill prob never do it again. 3. I got to see the catacombs at La Iglesia San Francisco. 4. Youll never believe this one...I drank Jugo de Rana. Translation...FROG JUICE!! I actually got to see them kill the frog, skin it, boil it, blend it, and strain the bones...and he added a QUAIL EGG for good measure! HA HA 5. I ate anticucho, bull heart! Ok so I know that wasnt a big deal either but eating new things is a HUGE step for me!!

That night we went to camp for orientation. It was a great 2 days just learning about God and what He wants to do in the villages! We did an indepth study of the Tabernacle and how it applies to our lives. It was pretty much a huge worship service. It was great just getting to know the other students that were going to the villages as well. I met my team members, Michael Hall and Jerry Jenke. They have both been to our village that we are going to. They are so excited about what the Lord is doing and going to do in Bella Union!

Now, we are at our hotel in Ica. Tomorrow, we will go to church with a pastor who has been diligently working in our village, Bella Union, for about 2 years. We took him, his wife, and 8 yr old son to dinner at Rokys tonight. They had the best chicken!! We depart for Bella Union right after church. Please pray for our safety as we continue to travel. Please pray that the people would be receptive to the Word. Please pray for our team unity and spiritual preparedness also!!

Love yall,
B

Next stop....PERU!!!

Wow time flies!! It was only yesterday that I was applying to the IMB for mission work...and now I leave in less than 24 hours for Lima, Peru! The excitement is almost too much...I doubt I get any sleep tonight! This is way better than going to Disney World! :)

I just got through making my goodbye phone calls...I hate goodbye's so let's call it my see-you-later phone calls! I still have to finish packing...leave it to me to wait until the last minute. Good thing I don't have to bring that much with me.

FYI...my plane leaves Pensacola at 2 pm tomorrow and I should be arriving in Lima at 11 pm

Please pray for the safety of all the SMT 08 team members while we are traveling. Pray for all our family members to have peace and comfort. Pray that everything goes smoothly tomorrow.

God Bless,
B

Yay for GRADUATION!!

I recently graduated on Friday! YAY!!! Even though it was a big milestone in my life, it was just any other day to me...maybe that's because I still have another year or two in grad school. I did, however, get to catch up with my long lost friend Tessa that night! After our lovely night in at Tessa's new house, I decided it was time to pack...can you hear the excitement in my voice?! So after procrastinating for a few hours, I started at about 12:30 a.m. I absolutely hate to pack so it was no surprise that I wasn't in the best of moods. So I got to thinking while I was packing...about leaving Troy and what this summer holds for me. I was definitely overwhelmed with mixed emotions. I'm SO EXCITED about going to Peru and discovering what God is going to do. I enjoy meeting new people and I know that since God has called me to go that everything will be perfectly fine. But on the other hand, I was sad to leave Troy for the summer and all my friends. It's going to be so hard not seeing them everyday or talking (well mainly texting them)! My wonderful roomie made me even more sad...you can sleep in my bed anytime you would like Court! :) Most of my friends are going out of the country also. I can't wait to see all of them when we get back to compare stories!