A new season.

I have been home for nearly 2 weeks.  I have annoyed my family as much as possible with endless stories and spanish lessons.  I have somewhat begun to feel normal behind the wheel of a car.  I don't stress out about the tap water, and THERE IS ICE IN MY WATER.  

Being home is good.

But, being home is hard.  

Sometimes it's hard to explain the way I feel, and it's hard for anyone to understand.  I have cried and mourned.  That season is over.  

But God is good.  A new season is about to begin.  Soon I will start law school, and I look forward to seeing how God will use this Peru experience in my future.  I look forward to returning to Arequipa one day and visiting my Peruvian family.  Until then I am enjoying showers with hot water and pressure and giving thanks for all of the things I took for granted before.

So this is it for now.  My final blog post.  As I type that I breath a sigh of relief.  I want to say thanks for joining me in this journey.  Thanks for following my blog and faithfully lifting up this mission with prayers.  

On an ending note, I was asked, "If you had to describe your time in Peru in just 2 words, what would they be."

"Potatoes and Jesus," I said.  

I ate a whole bunch of potatoes.  And I spent a whole lot of time sharing Jesus, praising Jesus, learning more about Jesus, and leaning on Jesus.

So, I made a video and titled it "Potatoes and Jesus."  Cheesy - just like me.  Pictures are able to express everything so much better than my feeble attempt at blog posts.  So, if you have some time I hope you check out it out.  I do apologize because it is a bit lengthy, but heck, I'd say a 15 minute video to summarize 9 months isn't too shabby. 

So, goodbye….thanks... & enjoy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yixqx-H2wIg

Despedidas & Cake

The congregation after my last service with San Lucas Church

What in the world is a despedida?

Madison, you should know better than to use Spanish words.  Come on now, use English please.  You are back in the USA.

Despedida is a going away party, a goodbye party, a farewell party.  I think you've got the idea.  Pretty much any sort of get together can suffice as a despedida, and I had 5. 

Despedida #3 at the school

1. Bible study group:  Cake and prayers at the ladies' Bible study I joined and attended.
2. Children's Home: Cake and sodas, hugs and pictures, and a giant card made from all my kiddos.
3. School: Cake and sodas, dancing and a homemade card (in English) from one of my high school classes. This one was a surprise that they planned all on their own.  
4. Youth Group: Snacks, cookies, and sodas.  Games and prayers. Oh and dancing. 
5. Church: 4 CAKES, sodas, prayers.

Despedida #5 with all the CAKESSS

Despedida #4 

On Tuesday, Padre Ricardo told me he would give me a ride to the airport and would be by to pick me up.  When I heard the honk and looked out the window I expected to see his little car.  Instead he was driving the big van and all of the kids from Casa Hogar were with him to take me to catch my flight.  Once at the airport 5 of the youth leaders showed up along with my Peruvian Mom - Naty.  30+ Peruvians all saying goodbye to the Gringa.  See picture below...

Coming to an end.

With everyone who went to the airport to say goodbye.  Pretty special. 

I'm in Lima right now having just finished my first leg of my return trip to the States.  I'm coming home.  July 15 is here.  My 9 months in Peru is over.

Where did the time go?! How is that possible?

This was meant to posted some weeks ago, but every time I sat down to write it I couldn't come up with the words.  

I am filled with all sorts of emotions right now.  First I'll start with the emotion of gratitude.  I am incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity.  I am so grateful that I had so many incredible supporters who made this possible through financial donations and PRAYERS.  I am so grateful to have enjoyed 99.9% of the last 9 months.  (The time I went to get a haircut, didn't know how to explain what I wanted due to language barrier issues, and walked out with the craziest, thickest, BIGGEST bangs wasn't exactly enjoyable.  That is the .1% I refer to.)

So as I have established, I am grateful.

But I'm also sad, really really sad.

My wise sister in law wrote me a couple of weeks back, and she put into writing the words exactly what has been going through my mind.

"What ways you have been broken, changed forever! Oh HOW you have been made full! Emptied! And made full again! I can only imagine the tears that bubble up into your eyes as your heart bursts forth due to a lack of words. As Beth Moore once said, "Tears take us somewhere words cannot.  Tears are the liquid language set to the tune of the Holy Spirit's groanings." (romans 8:26)."

Boy have I cried these last several weeks.  But then again I'm a cryer.  I cry when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I really want some ice-cream, and when I can't seem to fix these dang bangs that the Peruvian hairdresser so kindly gave me.  

Ok, back to my sister in laws wise words.  She said the following…

"I intercede two things for you today.  Grief & Hope.

She wrote to me about grieving because she knew how so terribly difficult it is for me to leave this place, these people, this mission.

I know you are grieving this season ending.  The things you've seen, the streets you've walked, the people you have come to love.  Will you ever see them again? Did you make a difference?  

She talked about hope because I've had many a conversation with her regarding where to go from here, what's changed in my heart, and where I feel He is leading me now.  

Your future, Madi, is not dependent on you.  God wants you at your destination more than you do! You have such a bright future For HE IS YOUR ANCHOR. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." (Heb. 6:19)

So grieve and hope she says.

Y'all, something is going on in my heart.  The plans I was so sure of before, I'm not sure about anymore.  As I start a period of reflection and discernment on what to do next I ask once again for PRAYERS.  

So all in all the point of this post is to say I'm coming home.  My time in Arequipa has come to an end.  I'll be back on American soil eating all of the Chick-fil-A and Tex-Mex food I can get my hands on.  I can't wait to visit with everyone in person, share my stories, and talk incessantly about my experiences.  Stay tuned to here too, because I have a couple more posts coming (the question is when it will get done ha). 

Santiago Apóstol

 Villa Ecologica - the district of the city where the church is located

Back in May we had a mission team here and working at Santiago Apóstol, a small humble mission that the diocese has on the outskirts of Arequipa.  On my days off from teaching I went out with the the team to help with the work – mainly dealing with the walls and improving some of the aesthetics inside the church.  Ok, I admit maybe I even took off a day from teaching my classes to go and help.

Pictures taken during the week working in the church

Then this Sunday, the leaders of the youth group that I am a part of had the idea to take hot chocolate and bread to share with the congregation after the Sunday afternoon service.  I was excited to get back out there and spend more time with this community in worship and fellowship.

Serving hot chocolate

Some new friends

Please pray for Padre Alejandro, the priest of this mission, and for the families and children of the community.

Break from school!

Several weeks back the kids had a week break from school between semesters.  With no classes for an ENTIRE week, Kym and I took advantage of the opportunity to do some fun stuff with the kids!

On Tuesday afternoon during the week we all loaded in the van and headed to a dinosaur park here in Arequipa.  With playgrounds, snacks, and games we had a great afternoon.  I wore myself out in the giant inflatable slide for a solid 40 minutes acting like one of the kids.

Wednesday morning we loaded in the van again, this time traveling further outside of Arequipa to a small "pueblo" with a really great pool area.  With several different pools, a playground, and an area to go exploring down near the river there was plenty to do to keep us entertained.  For lunch, we cooked out and had our "almuerzo" while sitting in the grass and sunshine eating yummy potatoes, choclo (GIANT corn), and beef all with our fingers :)

Then Thursday afternoon Kym and I carried 12 large pizzas, 30 VERY chocolatey and yummy cupcakes, and 2 movies to Casa Hogar.  We hung out in their dining room, where they had hung up blankets to cover the windows to achieve a movie theatre effect, and watched some of my favorite movies - Frozen and Hunger Games.  I got home and realized "YOU BIG DORK, you didn't take any pictures!" So, no pictures from this day…Sorry.

This week was such a special time loving on the kids and sharing lots of laughs.  I can't believe that my time here is already coming to an end.  I am so thankful for the memories from this week, and thankful for my supporters back in the States.  I was able to use some of my extra budget to help pay for the costs during the week.  So thanks supporters, you made this week possible :)

Prayers, please!

I had a couple of people recently mention to me that they liked how I included prayer requests on one of my previous posts.

So now I'm calling all you praying' folks out there and asking for your help with prayers for the youth ministry in the Iglesia San Lucas (Saint Luke's church). As you may remember I have been helping with this ministry since January, and it has become very near and dear to my heart.

We have a group of leaders (there are about 10 of us), and we have been working to really grow this ministry and reach out to the students in the Colegio San Lucas (Saint Luke's School). As of recently, we have begun having our reunions on Saturday mornings. The students in the secondary grades have weekly tests on Saturday mornings (How awful, huh? Tests on SATURDAYS?!?!) Anyway, the students stay after their tests and we play games, sing praise songs, and have small group time with different themed talks.  It's a HUGE challenge because it is such a large group (50 - 100 students), but every week things go a little more smoothly and I think our group of leaders is finally getting the hang of it.  

So, please pray for:
- The group of leaders. For patience, wisdom, enthusiasm
- The students from the school. For good attitudes, excitement
- The continued growth and success of the ministry



And check out the slideshow of the pictures I took at our last reunion!

Semana Santa y Pascua

Holy Week and Easter!

Palm Sunday -  We moved the pews and chairs into the street in front of the church building and had our entire service outside.  It's a good thing, too, because there is no way all of the people that came to the service would have been able to fit inside of the tiny sanctuary.  A new experience for me was when we all got up out of our chairs in the middle of the service, palm branches in hand, and began walking around the neighborhood following the cross and singing praises.



Wednesday - Shortly after arriving at the school on Wednesday Kym and I found ourselves in the middle of an earthquake drill.  Although this has nothing to do with Holy Week I just had to share because it was so hilarious.  The kids evacuated the building and then began walking in circles in the courtyard.  The hilarious part is that they had pretend victims.  A kid from each grade had their face painted red and was carried away on a stretcher.  It was pretty interesting to see a different kind of disaster drill and the way they do things.  Then toward the end of the day a group of the high school students performed a Stations of the Cross for the rest of the school before dismissing for Easter break.




Thursday - Early early Thursday morning Nati and I boarded a bus headed for Juliaca.  (Remember the youth group from Juliaca had asked me to play the part of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in their Stations of the Cross?)  Kym didn't want me to be alone on the bus, so I asked Nati if she would like to go.  Her son is the priest of our church there so she agreed to be my travel buddy.  That night after arriving in Juliaca we went to the Maundy Thursday service.



Friday - Padre Luis and the youth picked me up from my hotel at 5:30 am!!!  We traveled out to Tariachi, the hacienda outside of the city limits of Juliaca, where there is a little chapel you may remember from a couple of blog posts ago.  Show time was set for 8 am, but since things here run on "Peru time" it was more like 9 am before we got started.  SO MANY PEOPLE CAME TO WATCH! It made me a little nervous - I mean I haven't had much acting experience ;)    The whole production was pretty incredible.  The youth group did a great job of putting it all together and coordinating the whole thing.



Saturday - Back in Arequipe I started off the day by going to a youth meeting for several hours that morning.  Then I went to Casa Hogar to hang out and do a small Bible lesson with the older girls.  Then I rushed home, packed an overnight back and went back to the church.  San Lucas had a Saturday evening candlelit service and afterward some of the youth put on a small skit using sheets, lights and shadows to tell the story of the crucifixion and resurrection.  After all of that, we (the leaders of the youth group) had a Vigilia (vigil) and spent the night at the church - Hence the overnight bag I packed.  A group of 10 of us stayed up until 4 am singing praise songs, having a Bible study, playing games, and praying for one another.




Easter Sunday - After just 2 hours of sleep we woke up at 6, ate breakfast together, and got ready for the Easter morning service.  A kind of funny story: After communion I was standing in the back trying to take some pictures when a woman asked me to hold her dog as she went up to the front.  The dog didn't like the woman leaving him and immediately began barking and whining.  There I was standing awkwardly in the back with the dog as everyone turned to see what the commotion was.  After the service Kym and I came back to the house.  Honestly, after the busy week full of skits and services, Easter was a little uneventful which allowed us a day to get some rest, relax, and rejoice in our risen King!