I have a bed!!!

I am so thankful to my wonderful Father for providing me with a bed! After the first week I have slept without a mattress and have been praying for a bed for over a month now. To everyone else who prayed with me, thank you!

The original plan was that my sister and I would live together in a house close to Laura and Ana, but that never worked out, and I’m VERY thankful. I was blessed with a nice room and bed the first week I was in Peru and was able to transition into Peruvian life more easily that way.

The bed and couch Brian and Chiqui offered the first two weeks while my sister and I struggled with stomach illnesses were a huge blessing. They were extremely understanding and even helped me laugh about being sick.

Chiqui and Me

Sharing meals with Brian and Chiqui was a huge blessing—I was able to get to know these amazing leaders better. Their stories encouraged me to continue to do missions the way God prompts me and not based on any formula.

I was also blessed to be able to hang out with their adorable one-year-old son, Matthew, every day. Every morning I was greeted with a smile.

After two weeks with Brian and Chiqui, my sister and I moved into Local Central, a sister church of the one we’re most closely working with in Ciudad Nueva.

We shared a room with a team of 10 other Chilean missionaries for a few weeks. Despite invading the team’s space, breakfasts, and dinners for over a week, they were extremely welcoming. They were helpful when I got sick a second time and went to great lengths to take care of me despite the language barrier.

Here are two of our new Chilean friends, Vero and Susana.

Because we work in Ciudad Nueva every day, a 20 minute bus ride from the church where my sister and I were staying, we ate lunch with Laura and Ana’s host family almost every day (Laura and Ana live within walking distance of the church in Ciudad Nueva). Eating with Victor and Ayda Lyda was a wonderful treat. Aside from the delicious food Ayda Lyda prepares, I have been inspired by how much this couple loves each other, the way they treat their children, and how willing they were to have my sister and I eat with them. They are a wonderful example of Christ and I’m so thrilled Ana and Laura are staying with them.

After the Chileans left my sister and I didn’t know where we would eat breakfast and dinner each day. We had been tagging along with the meals they provided for their team. We asked the family who lives in Local Central if we could eat breakfast and dinner with them each day, and they were happy to host us.

Through IberoAmerican Ministries, we were able to give this family ample money to purchase extra food for us in February. As we got to know the family better they confided that the husband wasn’t able to work the entire month of January and their savings was almost completely used up for February. Before we came they were worried about how they would be able to put nutritious food on the table in.

I had entered their home worried I was a burden, and God turned it around to bless us both. I was so encouraged by their hospitality and faith in God. I taught the Tia how to make brownies and she taught me how to make a famous Peruvian dish, Lomo Saltado. We all agreed that the month of February was rich in blessings. I am SO thankful to God.

While I built relationships with several different families through meal sharing, God used the first six weeks of service in the church to build my friendship with Judith, a single mom who works overtime for the church in Ciudad Nueva. She opened her home to me when I was super sick and allowed me to rest in her bed throughout the day.

When I didn’t have a home she offered to house me in her smaller-than-a-studio-apartment home with only two twin beds. Judith was willing to share a twin bed with her mom and 8 year old son in order for me to have my own bed if I lived with her. Of course I couldn’t accept that offer, but it soon became clear that the best option would be for me to live with Judith.

The church bought a bunk bed for the family to replace one of their twin beds. I have the top bunk and Judith and her son share the bottom, queen instead of their old twin. When I leave in April, everyone will have their own bed.

My sister moved in with a different family down the street from Laura and Ana. They love the Lord and have incredible testimonies, but they have never housed anyone from outside of Tacna before and have a lot to learn about us gringas. After eating lunch with them a week ago, I was reminded that God never gives us anything we can’t handle, and He isn’t having me live there for many reasons. My sister, on the other hand, is much stronger in certain areas and I am confident God will do incredible works through her living there. As you remember to pray for me, though, please pray for my sister and the new family as they learn to live with each other’s starkly contrasting cultures.

Thank you again for your prayers. I am blessed to see so much good that has come from not having a home for six weeks; I am blessed to be able to spend my last seven weeks in Peru with a family, a friend, and to be able to sleep on a bed. The Lord is showering me with love that I do not deserve, and once again I am compelled to express how thankful I am to Him.