Wait

Wait. This short and simple word is all throughout the bible admonishing us that we should wait for the Lord. After years of prayer about my future husband, the Lord in 2007, laid a verse on my heart—Psalm 27:14.  “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  Thanking the Lord for this answer to prayer, I recommitted myself to wait for the Lord and His perfect timing.  After coming to Peru in 2008 and experiencing my first mission trip and getting to know Peru Mission, I was convinced the Lord was not telling me to wait for a husband, but to wait “for the Lord” and what He had in store.  What he had in store was a call to the mission field.  Little did I know that this calling WAS the answer to my prayer for a godly husband. 

Hermes Apolo Tómas Rocha and I met shortly after my arrival to Trujillo in April 2009.  He was part of the young adult group at the church I attended.  We sparked up a friendship and over the course of a year and a half became good friends.  In August 2010 after praying for six (6) months, he confessed his feelings for me and declared his intentions.  After much prayer and with the counsel and consent of the mission, we began dating September 5, 2010.  Over the past year, we have both grown personally in our walks with the Lord as well as a couple walking together. We had been praying for the Lord’s will and clear blessing upon our relationship. This past week, the Lord answered our prayers.

As a result of prayer, counsel from good friend and mentor, Allen Smith, and lots of his own planning, Hermes surprised me Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and took me to a water park here in town before dinner.  I was stunned when he got on one knee and in English asked for my hand in marriage! Of course, I said, “Yes!” He had arranged for Sandi Smith to be there and photograph the special occasion. Thanks to Sandi for capturing this special moment. So, not only did my friend get to be there for the big moment, but also we have some amazing photos to remember that night for a lifetime.  After the proposal, we dined with Allen and Sandi and asked them to be our godparents for the wedding (a Peruvian tradition). They have been a great example to us as a godly couple as well as very close friends.  We are thankful for their friendship and discipleship.

Hermes and me the night we got engaged.
(c) Sandi Smith

With the blessing of God, our families and the mission, we plan to marry next year. I plan to continue working as Administrator and Short-Term Team Coordinator for Peru Mission. Hermes is a salesman for a company called La Joya where he sells dairy products to local restaurants and stores. Additionally, as a very talented musician, he uses those God-given gifts to play with a local folklore group comprised of musicians from our church, Cristo Rey, and as a part of the worship team at Cristo Rey on Sunday mornings. He also serves as a deacon at Cristo Rey.

Hermes with the band, Muyupampa
(c) Nate Henderson

Playing the zampoña. He is very talented!
(c) Nate Henderson

Hermes and I are thrilled to share this exciting news with you. Many of you have had the pleasure of knowing him through your visits to Trujillo and I look forward to others meeting him when the Lord provides a way for us to return to the States for a visit or your next trip to Peru. Please pray for our upcoming nuptials and for the Lord to provide us more opportunities to serve Him. In a culture where marriage is rare and often not recognized as a gift from the Lord and a part of His redemption plan, we are hopeful that the Lord may use us as a godly example of a Christian marriage and encouragement to other young couples. 

We had a great time with a photo shoot
when Nate was in Peru in September.
(c) Nate Henderson

A Moment Captured

The engagement!

And afterward celebrating with good friends!

A Few of my Favorite Things

I love my cell group. The more time we spend together, the more I learn about them and from them. Tonight we celebrated Hermana Lucy's birthday. We played a game using everyone's second name. One of my favorite's was her husband John's second name. He is pictured below sharing the word of God with us. And with this photo you will see how appropriate his name is. Juan Bautista (John Baptist).

A Moment Captured

I am getting ready to make Southern Vegetable Pie. Yum! The recipe called for yellow squash, but I have never seen yellow squash here so I bought the big green squash in the back. And it calls for red, yellow, and green peppers, but we just have red (though they sometimes are green too). So it may be closer to Peruvian vegetable pie, but I am excited to try this new recipe for Sunday lunch. Cooking here is often fun, exciting and challenging, but it is just part of the adventure--and a part I enjoy. I will try to post a photo tomorrow of the finished product.

Location:Prolongacion Fatima,Victor Larco Herrera,Peru

A Few of My Favorite Things

I was in a taxi on the way to work the other day when an unanswered question was answered. . . it went something like this.

Pull up to the red light at España and Larco.

Man selling q-tips, airfreshners and trash bags (yes this special combination of three is popular here apparently for what to sell at the stoplights). As he walks among the taxis, "Q-tips! Air Freshner! Trash Bags!" looking for a customer, I think to myself as I have many a time, "Who buys this stuff?  Q-tips off a street vendor? Someone doesn't have time to buy these and/or might need to clean his ears while driving? I do not get this."

My taxi driver:  "over here!"  And he buys a small thing of pink Q-tips and sets them on his dashboard.

Questioned answered.

Where Does the Time Go?

Where does the time go? I looked up from May and we are one day away from October! As you know, my busy season is May to August and this year was no different. We had a fantastic winter (your summer) with lots of visitors and teams to work with us short-term. Of course, that means less time for me to blog and share with you the amazing things God is doing! But you can read more about our teams from the past few months here at the Peru Mission website. I have started an official blog there to let people know what our visitors and teams are doing. Please check it out!

In addition to my role as short-term team coordinator, I have been doing more and more in my role as Team Administrator and really enjoying it. What is boring and drudgery to others, is a joy to me. It is such a blessing to be able to use my spiritual gifts to serve here. I still am amazed at times that my joy of excel spreadsheets, bylaws, legal documents, etc., can be an actual service to others. We have an entire "team" of administrative workers now and that has helped to get us organized and more efficient to also allow time for evangelism in my home and through the cell group of which I belong. 

One of the big projects I have been working on is moving our offices. We currently have a wonderful home in downtown Trujillo that we rent as our offices. It is an amazing space, but too large for our needs after many changes to our ministries and the way we are streamlining our focus and work here. Also, the rent and expenses do not fit within our new budget for administrative costs trying to keep them at a minimum. The search for a new place within our budget was challenging to say the list, but the Lord provided and we move next week! So stay tuned for photos of the new space. I'll give you a virtual tour in a few weeks. Until then, here is a photo of one option we looked at that is up the street from where we currently are located. The outside looked nice and had a sign for rent or to sell. So, we checked it out. This lovely local is only $2,800 a month -- yes that is dollars and not soles. The bathrooms are very nice and they offered to put a roof on the building and a tile floor down, but no walls would be included.  If we wanted walls to divide the rooms, we'd have to pay for that ourselves.  Welcome to office shopping in Peru!

A Moment Captured

One of my favorite dishes and the hands that prepared it!