"Empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with You..."

I haven't written in a while...you would think since I have a two week break from school I would have more time, and it has definitely been relaxing, but not a ton of time to write. The first week Megan and I took a bus trip to Chile to renew our visas. It was very relaxing. We walked on the beach, read in parks, took a tour of a national park, and just explored the area. I've learned that Chilean Spanish is MUCH more difficult to understand than Peruvian Spanish. They speak very quickly, cut off the ends of their words, and don't really pronounce the letter s. We kept having to have people repeat themselves, I think they thought we didn't speak Spanish well, but I understand here...haha! This second week MEgan and I bought the tourist ticket (the only time I will allow myself to be called a tourist ;)) and have been going to see some of the different Inkan ruins and famous sites. It's reminded me of how thankful I should be that I get the chance to be in such a beautiful place. I've honestly never seen anything like it and it still takes my breath away. Right before break we had a program at school to celebrate Peru's independence day. Each class acted out something that led to Peru's independence. At the end the teachers sang a song. It was kind of funny, the song was saying I have the pride to be Peruvian, and I am happy to be born in this beautiful land of sun:) And we wore red and white ponchos to make the Peruvian flag! I feel like my relationships with the teacher keep growing stronger, which is really exciting. I also keep seeing improvements in my language, which is also a huge blessing. I definitely needed this break to recharge, but I also definitely miss the teachers and my students.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

God always brings this verse back to me with new meanings or pictures, it’s such a blessing. One day my devotional was just what I needed to hear. It talked about how we so often focus on the external and situations, when really we need to focus on our relationship with God and deepening that and this will naturally fix the external. It had this quote: “Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root, which is out of sight, “by Matthew Henry. Then God brought me back to Jeremiah 17:5-8 and reminded me that a tree without roots can’t do anything, it can’t keep its leaves from wilting, it can’t grow fruit, it can’t do anything. It needs the roots and then these things happen. So, it was a good reminder to focus on my relationship with God and deepening that instead of my circumstances, people, or certain situations.