3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

21 years old 

This was my first week in Peru! I came down with Southmont and the original plan was for me to stay 5 weeks after they left for a short term mission trip. Then my plan was to go back to the states and start an inner city ministry, but God had different plans. He called me to stay for a year. To say I didn't want to stay is a HUGE understatement. I spent the whole first week crying, not around the kids of course, but I had "plans" that I had thought God wanted, but apparently not. I was not mentally prepared to stay longer than 6 weeks. If you know me well, you know I love mission trips more than anything else in the world, but I do not have fond memories of that week. I was in shock. Not only was I going to be staying by myself somewhere for 6 weeks without really knowing the language, but now God was calling me to stay for a year.

I think the first 6 weeks were the longest 6 weeks of my life. The time seemed to go by so slow. I was so sad and did not realize at the time, I was in a state of depression. I had just graduated from DBU and left all of my best friends. Then more than that, I had left Mission Arlington where I had literally spent ALL of my time in college. I had left 5 apartment churches that I so dearly loved. I literally worked for Mission Arlington until 7 am the morning I left for Peru. Then left for the airport at 7:30. I had loose ends to tie up, and I was not willing to leave them undone. I worked for 2 weeks solid after graduation on finishing everything that I could for Mission Arlington, so I wasn't mentally prepared to come to Peru at all. I didn't even know where Peru was on the map, I just knew it was in South America. That is terrible right?? I just knew that God had placed in my heart 800 kids that needed to hear the good news about Jesus and that I was called to go.
 So I stayed those first 6 weeks, in 2 of those 6 weeks I went on a backpack tour all over Peru with the graduating class. We literally walked with backpacks full of food and clothes all over the Southern part of Peru. I was in absolute shock. It was amazing, but I had no clue what was going on and didn't know any of the people I was backpacking with, but God still did amazing things. A girl that knew English became a Christian on that trip and helped me to give out salvation bracelets to 100s of people in pueblos all over Peru! Then I came back to the Community for 3 weeks and only by the grace of God taught the Bible to the kids and taught them how to make bracelets. Then I went home for 3 weeks and literally laid on the couch and cried all the time about the thought of going back. I know I sound pathetic, at the time I did not realize how depressed I actually was. I had literally lost everything and was starting over again. I know it sounds super cool going to another country, but it is not always as cool as it may sound. SO thankful to my parents who made me do all of my lesson plans for the entire year for my religion classes while I was in the States. My church family worked like crazy as well to help me get everything ready! Then I was off for another 11 months! But the story does get better!!! I still did not like it until June of that year. I came home for my brother's graduation, and God literally changed my heart. He gave me a new JOY. He had people from the states help me come up with a new discipline system for my religion classes in the school, and I fell in love with Peru. Then I started to get worried that I only had 1 year here. Ever since then I have loved Peru. There have been times where I have strongly disliked living here because of circumstances in ministry or in my personal life, but now overall I love it! All glory to God. He didn't have to give me a love for this country, but in His graciousness He did! 

22 years old 

Southmont came back at the end of December beginning of January at the end of the first year. It had been such a great year, and it was incredible to see all that God had done in between their first mission trip and their second mission trip. I put this picture in because I did not even realize I had pictures with Jessi, but here she is 2 years ago on the mission trip! 2 Years later, she decided to come back and live in Peru!!! That week was so crazy for me, it is a blur who I hung out with or what I did! The second year here in Peru was great and hard all at the same time. We were kicked out of the orphanage we worked in I believe because of spiritual warfare, but God is so good because he had already called both Nancy and I out of there into the city. We had thought we were going to work there and in the city, but God had other plans. We were able to find a house within 2 weeks of coming back after our furlough. God put on both of our hearts the mission of starting house churches. It was such an exciting time. I just loved all that God was doing, besides getting kicked out of the orphanage which was really hard, we loved what we were doing, and God gave us the grace to handle that as well.

We were kind of starting all over again. We had learned how to be missionaries in the orphanage  but learning how to be missionaries outside of the orphanage was all new. It was a different way of life, a different culture, more culture shock etc. We rarely went anywhere outside of the orphanage or neighborhood around the orphanage the first year, so it was like the second year our eyes were opened to what it was really like to live in Peru. It was exciting and confusing all at the same time. At the end of the second year, I went through the worst experience of my life up until now.

I experienced a dark deep depression. It was probably an accumulation of years and years of working myself to death. I literally was like a crazy person since about 9th grade in high school with tons of homework, a job, and ministry projects. In college it even got worse when I started to take 19 hours of class, work, and be in charge of apartment churches. By the end I was in charge of 5 apartment churches. I loved it! It was exactly what I was supposed to do at the time, it just after years all built up, and I burnt out in a way medically, physically, emotionally, intellectually. I didn't understand why God allowed that to happen to me, I thought at the time nothing good could ever come from this. I thought, this is not who Lauren Robertson is, she is a hard worker, who never stops etc.... BUT God humbled me in a huge way. He allowed a huge burnout and depression to stop me in my tracks. Just now am I realizing all the good it did for me. It gave me a new compassion for people here in Peru who are dealing with depression or other mental illnesses. I never understood that really before and probably would not have compassion on those people, it also taught me how to pace myself and take care of my body. So much good came out of those horrible months the second year, and now I can honestly say I am grateful that God allowed me to pass through those dark dark times. 

23 years old 

The start of the third year!I spent New Year's Eve hanging out with my Peruvian friends. The third year was great as well. I was starting to get in my groove with house churches. We were able to start 2 more house churches this year and got the blessing of getting to go back in the orphanage to teach the Bible. It was filled with trials too, Nancy my teammate of 2 years decided to join another team in the Southern part of Lima for reasons of needing more Christian Community. We had been just out here in Ventanilla very much alone for 2 years, and she decided she needed a team that had more community, so she joined a team that my good friends Shaun and Amanda work on. That was obviously very hard for me, but God provided as well. He brought along a new Peruvian teammate for me, Nicchola. Nicchola and I were very good friends at the time, and he had become a Christian the year before. We had known Nicchola since the beginning of our time here because he was a taxi driver that sometimes would take us around. He started becoming better and better friends with us and the second year he became a Christian. At the time of his conversion he knew that the Lord was calling him to be a missionary, so it just was perfect timing and God allowed Nicchola to be my new teammate. It has not always been easy working with a man of another culture, but it has been good. He is a Christian role model for the men and the boys in our Bible studies and is able to help me with culture issues etc. 

24 years old 

The beginning of the 4th year! Yep, that is right the girl from the picture 2 years ago on a short term mission trip is back to live here!!! She has blessed my life SO much! She is the best thing that has ever happened to this team. She brings so much joy, help, and is just a great friend. I was first a little worried about an 18 year old coming, but she does not act her age. She is amazing. I didn't even really know her until she moved her, but now I feel like I have known her all my life! So far this is my favorite year yet. God is just doing incredible things already. We have had an amazing summer here with the kids, going on all kids of field trips, water balloon fights, etc. We have started a new art ministiry and are just excited for what this year holds. We are hoping that this year can be a little less trial free, but either way God will provide. I finally feel like I know (kind of) what I am doing as a missionary in a foreign country. Even though, I had wanted to be a missionary my entire life, it just all happened so fast. I had a lot of training on how to do ministry with Mission Arlington, but no traning whatsoever how to be a missionary in a foreign country, but I have had the great and unique experience of learning by trial and error. God is so good. He is up to amazing things in Peru. People are coming to know Him, our discipleship group is so much bigger than this time last year, please keep praying for more workers, more people to know the Savior, more disciples to be made, and more house churches to be planted!