Be Yourself

I recently started a short book by Ray Comfort that I received at a small group meeting called The Way (tri-weekly meeting) a few months ago. There was a section that I really enjoyed and I will type most of it out and paraphrase and cut some, but here is the basis:

We can see the work of God's Law illustrated in civil law. When there is no visible sign of law enforcement, a motorist exceeds the speed limit on a freeway. It would seem that each speeder thinks to himself that the law has forgotten to patrol his part of the freeway. He is transgressing the law by only fifteen miles an hour--and besides, he isn't the only one doing it.

Notice however what happens when the law enter the fast lane with red lights flashing. The speeder's heart misses a beat and he is no longer secure in the fact that other motorists are also speeding.

Look at the freeway of sin. The whole world naturally goes with the flow. Who hasn't had a lustful thought at one time or another? Who doesn't tell the occasional "white lie"? Who hasn't taking something that belongs to someone else, even if it's just a "white-collar" crime?

The sinner has said in his heart, "God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see" (Psalm 10:11).

Watch the Law enter as the sinner is shown the measure if his guilt in light of the Law. Every man will give an account of himself to God (see Romans 14:12). Law shows him that his mere lust becomes adultery of the heart (Matthew 5:27-28), his white lie becomes false witness; his hatred becomes murder in God's sight (1 John 3:15). "For without the Law sin is dead" (Romans 7:8). He now sees his need for the Savior.

John R. Stott said, "We cannon come to Christ to be justified until we have first been to Moses, to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses, and acknowledged our sin, guilt, and condemnation, we must not stay there. We must let Moses send us to Christ."

Scripture tells us that we must be in the world and not of it. Don't follow the flow of what everyone else is doing or telling you to do. Follow your heart and the small voice of God's Spirit inside of you. You will be much happier in the end if you do. It will be worth anything that you might lose in the process!

*[BE.YOU]*RSELF

Vision

I was just watching Session 1 from Passion Conference that one of my all time favorite Christian speakers, Louie Giglio, hosts in Atlanta and Houston. It's my dream and mission to attend one Passion before I turn 25! Anyway, Louie was speaking on Isaiah chapter 6, which I just read a few days ago. Amazing how that timing was! I thought I'd make a post about some of the awesome things that Louie brought up!

The beginning of Isaiah 6 is how Isaiah got VISION! He saw the Lord!

Isaiah 6 starts off,

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

Can you even imagine a moment like that?! Isaiah SAW GOD! Imagine what you would be feeling! Isaiah probably saw the seraph coming for him with something flaming from the Holy altar of God, and thought he was finished. He was probably frozen in pure terror, not realizing that the thing he thought would end him, really was there to cleanse him and make him new.
It then continues with Isaiah's (and probably what any of our reactions would be upon seeing God) in verse 5:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah saw the Lord and then saw his sin! He probably felt so dirty and condemned and ruined! The moment where the seraphim touches the coal to Isaiah's mouth is breath-taking! Isaiah's guilt for his sins (along with his sins) were completely obliterated!
     Louie told a personal story of a moment when he first truly saw Jesus and the cross. You may be a believe and feel your faith life is good and strong. Louie was 15 years old and saw the Lord and realized for the first time how much He went through for him! Louie was completely broken before God, and was embarrassed because his guy friends wanted him to go to some banana split place... but that's beside the point.
Think of a time when you were broken before the Lord after finally seeing the cross!
Louie named a few ways to know you really truly saw God!

1.) You don't see Jesus's cross. You see YOURS! Your eyes have been opened by God. Christ died on YOUR cross, not His own! WE are the perpetrators who crushed Jesus!
Isaiah 53:6-9 says
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him  the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.


We can't dodge the blame! We turned, like sheep, to go our own way. It was not just THE cross, but MY cross!
2.) God was not just a passive by-stander at the Cross. He was the instigator! (vs. 10) "Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer..."
At the cross, the curse of our lives was completely gone. There is no traces of it left anywhere. "It is finished!" Condemnation is No More!!
In Galations chapter 6, Paul wrote a letter to the church in Galatia. He saw Jesus and fell down as if dead, and was physically blinded by the light of God! Paul claimed to be the worst sinner and the lowest person in the world, until He saw the cross!
"Amazing Grace,
Jesus was crushed for our sins; I was crushed so that Jesus is the only One I see! He is our vision!





And Jesus accepted it. He had communion with His disciples, then took them up the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, which literally translates into "olive press". Jesus asked the disciples to pray with Him because He had this huge weight on His shoulders from a huge decision He had to make. He signed off on His own death! He prayed 3 times to His Father, asking if there was any way out of it. He didn't want to go through all the pain. But while He was there praying, He already started to sweat blood because of the weight of the wrath and sin already starting to crush Him.

Don't let the enemy tell you otherwise!

Verse 14 says, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
There isn't ANY value in anything worth boasting in, except the cross of Jesus Christ!

How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost,
but now am found.
Was blind,
But now I see."

Jesus was crushed for our sins; I was crushed so that Jesus is the only One I see! He is our vision!

How does God "talk" to you?

Have you ever, like me, wondered how to know a certain decision or feeling to do something is from God? Everyone in church always said to listen to God's voice, but what does it sound like? Have you ever wondered if He is really leading you since you never heard an audible voice?

1 Samuel 3:10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

People in the Bible heard the Lord's voice in many different ways, depending on the situation. Some heard audible voices maybe. Others felt a nudging in their heart.

Exodus 3:2-6 (NKJV)
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.  Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”  Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Moses heard God through the burning bush. God wanted to get his attention, so he made a bush lit up with fire that did not consume the bush. I'm pretty sure that anyone would stop and stare at a sight like that!

Numbers 22:28-33 (NKJV)
Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”
Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.  And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.  The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
God made a donkey speak to Balaam to get his attention, as well! Can you imagine your disbelieving expression at a talking donkey?

Genesis 40:8 (NKJV)
And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”
So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”Joseph was able to hear from God through dreams and being able to interpret others' dreams for the future. God prepared Joseph to use his gifts for good, instead of bragging to his brothers.

He spoke to Noah 5 times over 950 years, Abraham 8 times over 175 years, Isaac 2 times and 1 time to Rebekah over 180 years, Jacob 7 times and 1 time to Laban over Jacob's lifetime.
God may also be silent during a trial, waiting for you to come to Him.
He spoke more through His Holy Spirit in the New Testament after His crucifixion, than the Old. Him speaking was more obvious in the Old Testament, but He still speaks to us today!

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
The Bible is God's Word in writing!

He also speaks to use through the gifts that His Spirit has sent to all of Jesus' followers!

In my own personal life, I've heard God speak and lead me to many difficult decisions throughout my life as a Christian. He speaks to us the through our interests many times. For me, it is music and Bible verses. My favorite radio stations are Air1 and K-Love. Many times when I was worrying about a situation or a decision that had to be made soon, a song (or series of songs) came on the radio that fit perfectly with the current situation. I knew it was God because my heart was open to Him, and I do not believe in coincidences, only God-incidences!
Other times, I've seen reassuring Bible verses pop up everywhere in regards to other situations. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Friends, and other internet sites.

I've recently actually been thinking a lot about purity. I received a purity ring for Christmas and I always agreed with what it meant, but never thought too much into it. I have had a lot of issues with lusting over guys in the past, and it did not lead to the best moments in my life... I believe with purity, we must have a pure mind and heart as well as the rest of our body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." (NKJV)
In coming to my decision and New Years Resolution to focus more on God than on guys, I have become more happy and comfortable around guys. God heals us in so many different ways, as long as we obey and let Him!

Do not become discouraged! God will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). If we ask anything in His name, it will be done (John 14:13). As long as we are serious about wanting to hear from Him, and can wait at the feet of our Lord and Savior for His timing, He will speak to your heart.

In Mark 14:32-38, Jesus was in Gethsemane and told His disciples to sit and watch as He communed with His Father. He prayed a prayer ranging from 20-23 words, and sat there for an hour! Jesus listened more than He spoke! That is the key to hearing God's voice.
Luke 8:18 "Take heed how you hear..." How do we hear?
Jeremiah 29:13 -- Through our heart!

Those verses convinced me that what I've been feeling of my Resolution to have a pure heart and mind, is a word from God to me. I want to obey and eagerly hear what God has to teach me this upcoming year!

Happy 2014! Hope it's a great year for everyone!

1 Thess. 3 -- Longing

I am in a club at my local community college called CRU. It is a campus ministry for Christ. We met today and the club has been a huge blessing to me! It is so uplifting to meet and worship and fellowship with other believers every week!

Anyway, the message from today was on 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. It reminded me lately that God knows the longing of my heart.... I'll get to that, don't worry.

Paul was talking about the Thessalonian church that he created and had to leave. (He was building and forming a lot of churches and creating disciples to lead those churches. He stayed for a year or two I think and then left to form another.) He is talking here about they were torn away in person, but not in thought. That meant Paul thought about them all the time! (This is where I was hooked!)
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Lima, Peru where I went on my first mission trip overseas. A lot of things lately have been reminding me of either the people there or the land itself where we stayed as a team. Well, this applies to me because WE are separated in person, but not in thoughts and prayers.
In verse 18 of chapter 2 Paul writes that he wants to go back and see how they are doing, but was unable to, so in verse 2 of chapter 3, he sent Timothy to go down to encourage the Thessalonians in their faith. I am also wanting to go back and see my Peruvian friends again, but am unable to until next July. Thankfully, there is facebook so we can still communicate (with a lot of google translating).

But in verse 5, Paul admits he was afraid that "the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless." Wouldn't that be horrible to find out going back that all your work had been forgotten and almost seem as if there was no point anymore and it was all for nothing? Thankfully that was not the case. Timothy came back with a very encouraging report in verse 6. They had a strong faith and love. Also Paul writes, "He [Timothy] has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you."

My Peruvian friends tell me that they miss me. Sometimes I've wondered if they miss me as much as the team and I miss them. I can see why Paul was encouraged from that. Knowing that the feeling goes both ways, that both groups made an impact on each other and very encouraging.

Verses 9-10,11: "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you."
I, like Paul, pray that I may see my friends again one day, and can only hope and trust that God will keep them all safe and answer my prayer.

God knows the longing of our hearts. I can only imagine the reunion that may have happened between Paul and the Thessalonian church years later! Probably many hugs, kisses, tears, and laughter, with everyone trying to talk at the same time. It makes me smile to think that one day, I will have a reunion like that with my Peru friends again next year!

What do you believe about yourself?

I was just sitting here reading the book The Unshakable Truth by father and son Josh and Sean McDowell. Amazing book! Truth number Seven is called "Living The Transformed Life" and chapter 30 is the third part of that truth. It is entitled "Seeing Yourself As God Sees You".

First of all, think of the most important people in your life. Parents? Friends? Teachers? Think on the things they say about you. Do they say you're a caring friend? A caring daughter/son? A smart student? A loving husband/wife? Someone who is not committed? Lazy? Antisocial? Unhappy? Mean?

Whatever the most important people in our lives say about us, we tend to believe. Am I right? We conform to their way of thinking. If what they say is negative, our thoughts toward ourself are also negative and we become very unhappy and begin to develop a low self-esteem. But if what they say is positive, we have a more positive attitude about life.

That should also be true with what GOD says about us. If He is the most important person in your life, you should believe him whole-heartedly. In the Bible, God says:

1.) You are His masterpiece (Eph. 2:10).
2.) You are beautiful (Ps. 139:14, Gen. 1:27, Song of Solomon 4:7).
3.) He loves you with an ever-lasting love (Jer. 31:3, Jn 3:16).
4.) He cares about what goes on in your life (2 Peter 5:7, Ps. 46:1).
5.) You are important (Jer. 29:11).

 

Please look up those verses and feel the truth behind the words.

 

Romans 12:2 (ESV) even tells us to not conform to the ways of this world. "...but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." Let the Word of God transform your mind and the way you view yourself. Don't let the mindless words of other define who you are as a person. :) <3

Follow Your Heart

Anthem Lightts released a new single Follow Your Heart” last night. It’s an incredible messaging saying to follow God’s heart! These guys are my favorite Christian band! (I loved them even before Joey joined over a year ago.) Once again these guys blew me away!!!! Every part of the song is so beautiful and such a powerful message!! It’s amazing because God has been teaching me to follow His Heart and then Anthem Lights writes this song? Coincidence? I think not! More like a God thing! ;) I’m not going to try to lie or sugar coat, it’s a tough ride learning to follow God’s heart, because we have to allow Him to change our heart and our lives. It hurts a lot. If you're nervous and uncomfortable now, here is the best part! Yes it may hurt and be a hard process. But guess what? In the end, when you take those steps to Follow God’s heart, it is completely amazing! It changes your whole life and your whole outlook on life! This song explains it all! When you follow God’s heart you will begin to make your mark! Don’t just listen to this song, let it stir your heart and make the decision to follow God’s heart and push forward no matter how high the mountain or how heavy the storm! <3



Here are the lyrics, and I will post the link to the song afterwards. God bless you all!

"Some say follow your own heart and it will never lead you astray. Some say chase your own dreams, that's all that matters anyway. Well I've been there, done that, tried that, lived that way like it was all for me. And I came back, found out, truth is, turns out to get me where I'm meant to be. I gotta follow YOUR HEART, if anything is gonna count in this life. I've gotta follow YOUR HEART if I'm ever gonna make a mark on eternity. So let Heaven's heartbeat always move me. Let my only prayer be to follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. I don't need a second opinion. You just say the word I'll go. And I don't need any convincing to walk along a narrow road cause I'm all in, sold out, can't turn back now. These are more than empty words. For the things that I want, I trust You got. I'll just keep the first thing first. I gotta follow YOUR HEART, if anything is gonna count in this life. I've gotta follow YOUR HEART, if I'm ever gonna make a mark on eternity. So let Heaven's heartbeat always move me. Let my only prayer be, to follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. I count it all as joy to give this life away, there's not a cost too high. A price that I won't pay to, Follow YOUR HEART. Follow YOUR HEART. Gotta follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. I've gotta follow YOUR HEART if anything is gonna count in this life. I've gotta follow YOUR HEART if I'm ever gonna make a mark on eternity. So let Heaven's heartbeat always move me. Let my only prayer be to follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. Help me follow YOUR HEART. Follow YOUR HEART."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdu7R6FwLCg&list=FLTJEPyai2aH4brhsl9rYGAQ <3

Peru mission trip!!!!

Hey 'all! :) It's been over 2 weeks since I've been home from Peru and I have a feeling this will be a long post haha So buckle your seatbelts and prepare your minds for what's to come. :P

It's always been my dream to fly on a mission trip somewhere. My church made my dream possible! If you've read my testimony, you know we switched churches back to my childhood church. During the Christmas Eve service my pastor was talking about a trip to Peru for the summer and right then I told my mom "I want to do this." and she told me to go talk to our pastor, so I did, and it was set! We had to raise a lot of money for the trip. I've had plenty of time to prepare my heart for this journey, but it still shocked me with what I've seen down in South America.

My church partnered with a few other churches in the state. We met at a meeting before, but during the trip, we grew so much closer. It was a blast getting to know everyone!

On the morning of July 22nd, I woke up at 4:30am and arrived at church at 5:15 to make sure suitcases were all ready and the right weight limit. We left around 5:30am to drive to Dulles Maryland. From there we met the rest of the group and flew to Houston Texas! Airports are so crazy! It was also my first time flying. I loved seeing the world get smaller as we gained altitude! Houston is so flat! I'm so used to the mountains of PA.
We finally arrived at the Peru airport and went through customs. At the airport, people were holding signs for other to find them easier... just like we see in movies. We all piled into a bus to drive to Little Lambs. Didn't get to bed until 1:30am (2:30 PA time).

7/23 (Tuesday)
We all woke up between 7 and 7:30 and showered. The showers were different than you'd normally see. We had to turn the water on, then flip the switch for the electricity to come on. I accidentally reached back and touched the handle and it shocked me. Then we had to turn the electricity switch off, then turn the water off afterwards. You get used to it after awhile. :)
We met everyone in the dining area for breakfast. They set up trays of really awesome breads for us! We also had eggs a lot. We prayed and talked together, then went out to face what the day had for us. We met some of the Peruvian people (amazingly awesome people!) and played with the children. We played a freeze tag type game called "cemente y agua" meaning "cement and water" where cemete freezed people and ague unfroze them. It was pretty fun!
One of the members of our team, Dee, got picked on all the time by everyone. It was pretty funny :)
Everyone is so loving. People run up randomly to hug you and kiss you on the cheek. I loved it so much! Definitely can't help feeling loved there!
Lunch time came around and we ate rice, sweet potatoes, chicken, and vegetables. Everything was amazing. Rice pudding was our dessert. Afterwards, we ran around with the kids some more, then walked to the area where we would be building one of the 2 homes. Our team was split into 2 groups: 1 group per house. We had to clear away an area. The pastor from the other church, Tim, is hilarious! He made a tail of leaves and used a machete to know trees down and pull them on top of himself. "All things are possible with God and machetes!" hahaha! There were also dogs and ducks and chickens walking around everyone. We picked up the chickens lol. One of the ducks barked.... so Tim imitated it and barked and did the duck's movements all week long. We all cracked up every time! Soooo we called it Tim's duck! :) The house had 2 rooms where we were at... the biggest was where the chickens and ducks were held. The small was the bedroom I was told. We saw a hole in the ground outside that is used to bathe in.... Imagine that.... I can't.... Makes you think how much we truly take things for granted here. All so eye-opening!
We learned and practiced in the church the songs and dances we performed for the Bible school! So catchy! We breathed in so much dirt haha.
We drew on the sidewalks with chalk with the kids. Saw lots of Jesus writings and church drawings. :) We also watched the Peru youth practicing their dance. So much talent!! I got asked to dance, but I didn't know it. lol. People remember your name very well down in Peru too. They care so much! <3
It was hard at first to remember to not put toilet paper in the toiled... they don't have the same plumbing as we do. Like the showers though, you get used to it. At home, we literally had to think about what we were doing! xD haha.
I also got told I smile and laugh a lot. :P hehe How could I not when I'm with those people? <3 In only 24 hours, our lives were changing from the amazing experience.
In Peru, you can't make the "ok" sign with your hands because that is the same meaning as if someone stuck up their middle finger to you.
It was so cold there! We were all bundled up in hoodies, multiple pairs of socks, and our alpaca blanket haha. Except Shelley. She was never cold.
After a shower, I went down to the dining area and watched a game of UNO with my new friend Neiser. Briana was playing UNO and Neiser kept trying to cheat for the other players. Briana said she would hit Neiser and I started laughing. Neiser was confused and I had to attempt to translate. I enjoyed practicing my Spanish, even though it was tough sometimes. It was time for bed, and Neiser was leaving. He called me short. :P

7/24 (Wednesday)
I woke up in the morning to hear how Tim doesn't use a comb on his hair; his uses a brush. Everyone was lovingly teasing him about it. Then he said he wants corn rows in his hair. haha :)
We had our first day of Bible school! WOOT WOOT! Everyone always gave Jesus a big "Woot Woot" and it was awesome! :D It definitely stuck through the rest of the week, and a lot of us even now still shout it randomly. One of the guys yelled "Weet Weet" instead of woot woot so we sometimes even yell "weet weet" just because...memories. :) But at Bible school, we danced to 3 awesome songs and had a great time getting the kids involved in it. The craft they made was a prayer box. Tim gave the message on prayer, while Sarah translated for them. The days seemed to last longer in Peru because no one was ever rushed for anything. Everyone is so laid back and no one ever cared about what time it was. Things always started late, but no one cared. I really liked that sometimes, not caring about the time or needing to be at a certain place right on the dot.
We ate spaghetti for dinner. :) It was excellent! We had an interesting drink made from purple corn. It wasn't my favorite thing there. I was more open to trying the food and drinks there than in the US for some reason. Not really sure why that is.
Afterwards, I kicked a soccer ball around with some of the people there. That's the only time you'll see me doing anything sports related. :P We went to a park outreach that the Peruvians hosted and put on a show for us all. It was really interesting with all the dancing. Also, Dee, Tim, and I saw 2 dogs mating. Tim said "they just did the nasty right in front of us!" and Dee and I started crying from laughing so hard. That became an inside joke of ours: Park!
Back at Little Lambs for dinner, Shelley put too much sugar in her tea and her face made everyone crack up. She was so hyper after that and it was hilarious! Amanda and I sang Veggie Tales songs hahaha! We're such odd people! :)
We had face painting! :D It was enjoyable. The kids LOVED it! The one 6 year old boy named Alex kept saying I was crazy. I love that kid! I was chasing him around where we stayed and caught him, wrapping him in my arms and tickling him. We were both laughing. Then we saw Ethan on the roof and Alex said to me "Tu loca para ti" meaning "You crazy for him" and kept making a heart sign with his hands at me and pointing at Ethan. I kept saying "no no no" but arguing with Alex never works.
For some reason, a lot of the Peru guys I hung around with thought Michaela and I were related, so they made a joke from it and kept switching our names on purpose. XD I didn't even miss my phone nearly as much as I thought I would. I barely even thought about it laying in the bottom of my suitcase. We had nightly meetings (with Tim's group) where we talked about our day. It was awesome! :) We prayed together too. So nice to share feelings like that.

7/25 (Thursday)
Merry Christmas in July! woot woot! Dee was named "princesa abuela" meaning grandma princess ;) hahaha.
We danced in the second park outreach and got to dance with the Peru group to their song! :D We probably made fools of ourselves, but we enjoyed doing it. Fools for Christ! <3
We went to start building the home. We had to dig probably about 20 holes through the day because we kept doing it wrong.  We rode back on the moto-taxi which was so awesome! We passed a yarn shop and Shelley got super excited. Amanda and I almost fell off the back of the moto because we were laughing so hard.
My friend Kris asked me to play UNO so we played, laughed, and teased each other. Neiser cheats! :P
Then I walked to the church and I GOT TO PLAY GUITAR WITH THE WORSHIP TEAM!!!!! Such an amazing moment!!! :) I got pics with the team and Dee and I fell over laughing about the dogs again. xD
That was a night of a deep moment with Kris and some members of the team.
Doug, Sarah, and Israel made me try carbonated water. They wouldn't quit nagging me until I did. It's so gross!
Ethan and Michael and I played with the kids. Ethan got attacked and kept asking me to free him, as I took pictures!

7/26 (Friday)
I sat on the roof for a minute. It was cool. We went shopping downtown today! Downtown traffic was crazy -- like worse than Pittsburgh! The cars drove so close to us and there was so much honking because no one uses turn signals. I found a lot of gifts. It was a great time. I also have some soles (the money) too. We ate at a restaurant called Norky's and they had Inca Kola!!!! Dee and I talked and laughed the whole way back. I said they should turn the A/C on, but there was no air in the bus... so now instead of "park" being our joke, it's "park-air". We blamed our endless laughter on the bus fumes. Shelley and Lori saw 4 guys relieving themselves outside....awkwaaaard.... And we enjoyed teasing Shelley.
It's funny how I felt so at home there, especially considering the poverty.
We played Dutch Blitz which was a game I quickly became hooked on. We stopped because Tim wanted me to get some pictures for him of some of the team. He got made at someone for saying something I didn't hear, but was I think aimed at me. We talked later in the top of the church and he explained his childhood to me after I said his sermon he was planning fit me almost perfectly. We had a nice deep conversation and he asked me to help me with the message. It was on hurting and broken hearts. Amanda and Michael created a dance to Jar Of Hearts by Christina Perri, and it was amazing! It gave me chills just watching them practice. My job was to hold up a broken heart and separate the pieces (Satan steals our joy), then hold up a full heart (how Jesus can make us whole).
I walk down and Neiser wanted me to play the guitar. He got it for me and just sat in front of me watching and listening to me sing and play. We talked for awhile afterwards.
Then I talked with Ethan for awhile.
It was Elmer's birthday and we gave him a gift that we split the cost of.

7/27 (Saturday)
Busy day. We celebrated Peru Independence Day today, even though it's not today. (I think it's the 28th but I could be wrong.) There was dancing from every age in the school. It was adorable! I sat on the roof and watched, then raced down when it was the Team's turn to dance. Hung out with my awesome friends there. Then we went to work at the house more.
We showed up at the house and saw that they tried to re-build the house (as if we wouldn't notice the huge gaping hole where a panels was only days before) differently to make it bigger. They thought we would have more panels for them, which we didn't. No one wanted to stay and re-build it, but we ended up modifying it, and it was a little bit smaller than before. We left the extra panels there, because the family is going to re-build it their way sometime in the future.
We got back and had the church service where Tim spoke. The altar call was amazing!!! Probably my favorite night of the week! Most of the team went up during the call and laid hands on those who knelt by the cross praying (silently or aloud). It almost made me cry, too. Afterwards, we walked around and asked people if they were okay and if there was anything we could do to help them. Kris hugged me for awhile and said I'm like his sister, and his best friend, and he loves me. We planned to talk more the next day, because he was going home. I met up with Neiser and Michaela and we joked around. Before leaving, Neiser picked me up really high haha. Then Ethan spun me in circles. I think we were all in great moods from the church service. Their services are so cool. The youth did an amazing pantomime that I loved! I wish I could see more things like that around where I live.
This was a day full of ups and downs... but God worked wonders by the end of it!

7/28 (Sunday)
We had church this morning where Pastor Gary preached. Each member of the Team got upfront to introduce ourselves and say something. It was interesting, considering I'm not much of a public speaker and it was totally improv. Israel translated for the Peruvians. Pastor Gary spoke on being a witness. After church we talked to the people for awhile and Neiser wanted me to wear his sweatshirt and get a picture with me in it. It was so long on me and Neiser made fun of me the rest of the day haha. I asked why and he was like, "por favor? para mi?" (please? for me?) so I gave in haha. :)
We ate goat today! :) It's so good!
We set out to go finish the house today. Didn't go as well as we hoped, but it's finished. "Weet weet!"
We laughed and danced and cheered a lot in celebration haha.
I was outside one time and Alex kept coming up and scaring me. He's so cute!
I handed out some gifts to the children, too! We also bought our tea and Inka to take home with us!<3
After playing UNO (Peruvian way...won't ever be the same again), I went to shower, and the power went off on me twice. Not fun because it was dark and the water turned freezing haha.

7/29 (Monday)
After breakfast, Pastor Gary had me pray for our protection and for the day. I don't like praying out loud, so that was new for me kind of.
We got all of our stuff packed up and it took awhile to get organized enough. I walked into the dining area and hung out listening to music with Kris. I also kicked the soccer ball around outside a bit with 2 of the guys. We took some pictures and joked around with the guys. We kept trying to get Louis to say "scared" and he said "escared". It was too funny!
We played Dutch Blitz and Michael and I were going at it and slamming cards down. hahaha!
For lunch some of us tried guinea pig (cui)! It was too chewy for my taste. My new friends kept laughing when I showed them the picture of it that I took because it's a pet (mascota) in the States and food in Peru.
We hung out for awhile and walked to the 2 houses that were built. We came back and talked some more. The cooks told us they had a snack for us and it ended up being like a dinner: chicken, rice, and potatoes.
Preparing to leave was not fun at all! The bus came around 7pm and we were all walking around hugging everyone and saying our goodbyes. A lot of us (both American and Peruvian) started crying. Neiser hugged me and (trying to make me stop crying and be happier) said, "Facebook. Tomorrow." <3 Then one of the little girls kept hugging me tightly and trying to move my mouth with her fingers to make me smile. She said "No triste, happy happy happy!" It was adorable! Kris was hugging me for a long time and said he loves me and he'll miss me and for me not to cry. I completely lost it.... A lot of the older women hugged and kissed me. One of them tried to wipe my tears away. I hugged Neiser again and was the last one on the bus. We drove off and waved to everyone until we couldn't see them anymore.
Neiser surprised me by meeting us at the airport. I ran over and yelled "oh my gosh!" and gave him a big hug. It was so crowded there haha...
We played Dutch Blitz in the airport during our wait. Good distraction.
Slept for 3 hours max. on the flight to Houston. Back in Houston, we had a 5 hour layover and just laid around. I turned my cell phone on and it was so weird having it on again and using it. The first thing I had was a voicemail saying I lost my second job I had just gotten for a stupid reason, and I wanted to just turned around and get on the next plane back to Lima and away from drama and stress again.
Sat by Josh on the flight from Houston to Dulles. He was singing "Don't Stop Believing" and dancing haha. I needed a laugh.
Came home and my life is changed! I no longer take as many things for granted. I miss everyone so much and think about them all the time. They're always in my prayers and I'd go back in a heartbeat. We keep in contact through facebook, which I'm so happy about, but you know it's never the same as talking to them in person. I can't wait for next year! Already talking fundraising! Woot Woot! <333