Wow, I am so emotionally drained honestly as I write this, but I also at the same time can not go to sleep because my mind is in a million places. A few days ago, I received some news that dramatically changed my life here in Peru, Nancy is following God's call to move to another team in Peru about 2 1/2 hours away from Ventanilla. Just a side note, this is not the cause of anything between us, but just a following of a calling from God for Nancy. So anyway, as you can imagine the past few days have been very rough and filled with a ton of different emotions. Today was our last day together, we actually moved her there tonight. Whew....I don't want to repeat this day again. :)
I am so grateful for the past 2 years I have had with Nancy Lane. She has blessed my life in so many ways, and we have experienced so many great and crazy things together from learning the language together, to learning the transportation system here, to shopping in markets, learning how to be international missionaries and so much more. I will never forget the 2 wonderful years I have had with Nancy. I don't think the reality has truly hit me, but now I am a missionary alone in Ventanilla. I should rephrase that Jesus is with me and WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ME, but as far as another American missionary partner.......well there is not one. Let me tell you though, God is already raising up Peruvians like never before. I beg that you would pray for me and as well for Nancy for guidance. I ask that you would pray that God would raise up people here in Ventanilla to help me share the good news of Jesus Christ. I also selfishly ask that you would pray for the lonliness that I might feel in days to come when I have no one here to speak to in English or talk about ministry things. God is so faithful, and I can so see His hand in all of this. He has prepared me by doing so many things for me that I didn't know at the time what the reason was for and now it all makes sense.
Probably the biggest confirmation of all of this was a couple days ago, I was talking to someone from Southmont about missions and she mentioned the story in the Bible where Paul and Barnabus split up. I was shocked that she mentioned this to me because no one new about this at the time and honestly it didn't even seem to go along with the conversation that we were talking about. I feel like the Holy Spirit just prompted her to say that to me, to comfort me in the fact that God knows what He is doing and has GOOD PLANS for my life. He is sovereign and in control. So anyway, last night we had a beach farewell party for Nancy. We had a taco salad dinner, Dr. Pepper (which is a huge luxury item for us in Peru - since it is imported), brownies, Sundays, and frozen limonade complete with umbrellas and beach themed straws! We gave her a beach bag filled with things for the beach since the new town she lives in has a beach right there. We also made a bulletin board for her filled with pictures of our discipleship group and notes from each one of them. It was such a special night. We had a prayer time for her, she also had a prayer time for me, talked about funny memories we had of her, we ate, and played the game "spoons." It was such a great time to be together and be thankful for the past two years that God has given us. Please, please, please be in prayer for both of us as this transisition is difficult, yet it is NOT impossible. "With God all things are posssible." Luke 1:37. Thanks for your support and for constanly lifting us up and the people of Peru in your prayers.
Below are pics of the night.....I could not post the majority for confidentiality reasons for some Peruvians in our group. Enjoy!
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| Fernando and I! The Chefs. Notice the cute frozen lemonades in front! |
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| Nancy coming in.....not really knowing we had a surprise party for her. |
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| Milagros enjoying her FIRST Dr. Pepper. She LOVED it! |
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| Yep, Nicchola and John had a weight competition to see who weighed more. |
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| Surprising her with her beach bag full of fun things for the beach! |
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| Nancy trying out all of her different things for the beach! |
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| Her bulletin board full of photos and notes from our discipleship group and Bible studies. |
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| Enjoying Sundaes! |
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| Championship round of "Spoons" |
Love you, Lauren. I am praying for you; the Lord always provides! Also, I love those straws!
ReplyDeleteLauren:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment on my blog about a month back. I wasn't sure if my email would go into your junk mail or not, so I decided to reply here as well. Sorry it's taken me a while to get back with you! I have been so busy recently between the start of a new semester (I'm an elementary teacher), moving to a new apartment, and helping a friend with preparations for her wedding. Thankfully, things should be slowing down now that the semester is in full swing and the wedding is over.
I have been to Peru quite a few times in the past (since 2007) to work with Kids Alive. They have an orphanage in Pachacamac (it used to be in La Molina until 2010 when they moved to the new site). They also have a family center in Manchay. I have been to Peru at least 3 times to work with them directly on short term trips. I spent 5 months in 2009 teaching at Lima International School of Tomorrow in La Molina, but there were some issues at the school with leadership, and I returned home at the end of the academic year because it was too stressful of a situation. Since then I have returned to Peru twice to visit friends, help out at the orphanage, and travel. I love Peru, and I feel God calling me to return, but I haven't found the peace with the opportunities that I have been presented. I keep praying about it, and I feel God telling me that He will provide complete peace when the right opportunity arises.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I would like to know more about your ministry in Peru and where you are located. I plan to return this year near the end of June and stay through the end of July. Being a teacher here in the States I get June-mid August off school, so I enjoy using this time to make extended trips back to Peru. During my time there this summer, I hope to travel with friends to Iquitos and possibly Arequipa, but otherwise I will be in Lima helping at the orphanage and visiting others that I have met along the journey. I also hope to check out a few schools and/or ministries and look at possibilities for returning for a longer period of time than just one month.
I'd love to hear back from you whenever you get the chance :)
God bless you and your ministry in Peru!
Jessica O'Connor