"Eres mi sombra de día, mi luz en la noche, pastor amoroso, no me faltarás..."

Today made me smile. In the morning I go down to the playground where my second graders line up. I love greeting them and getting an extra chance to chat with them. One of the kids was being a dinosaur and trying to eat my coat...haha...but that's not the point of my post. When I walked with them up to their class I had a little girl holding each hand and one holding the back of my coat.  It made me feel very loved. God definitely shows me His love through kids.

The title of this post is a song we sang this morning (on Thursdays before school we have a time of worship with all the teachers). It's been in my head all day. It roughly means you are my shadow by day, my light in the night, loving pastor, you don't fail me. I have noticed a lot of the songs here have had the line no me faltaras, like you don't fail or forget me. This is a really good reminder, just that God won't fail us, that everything that happens is for a reason and He will use it to better us and to shape us more into the person He wants us to be.

Things I love about Peru:

• The culture in general; it's very warm, welcoming, and caring.
• Teaching in a christian school and getting to talk about God with my students.
• How loving my students are.
• The ability to freely hug and communicate with my students (like they will just come visit our house:))
• My students are easily pleased by the simple things.
• God's definitely here and moving.
• The people's passionate spirits.
• Speaking and learning more Spanish.
• THE MOUNTAINS!!
• The less rushed, more laid back pace.
• The other teachers at Promesa.
• All the people God has placed in my life here.
• Fresh fruit from the market.

And I am sure there are definitely more that I can't think of at the moment. I think it is always good to take a minute to list the positives in something so that you don't overlook them :)

I had a nice, relaxing weekend. Friday night we (being me and my three roommates) made cookies and watched a movie. On Sat. went grocery shopping and did some school work, then watched a movie at night. Sunday was election day, so we couldn't have church or any meetings. It really felt like a vacation day. In the morning I read my bible and spent time with God, we made chocolate chip pancakes and had a worship/prayer time. Then we took a walk to the Brubaker's to eat lunch and play games. It was nice to be in a family setting. Then we walked home, made pizza for dinner and watched another movie (haha...I promise Fri. was the first I've watched a movie here) (oh...and fun tidbit...you can get movies here for like 4 soles (like less than $2...they would definitely be illegal copies in the U.S., but it's not here and it's what they have). It was definitely a needed, relaxing day. And today at school was good, I feel like things went pretty smoothly, which was really a blessing!

In other news, last week I went to a professional soccer game, and while we were waiting for it to start, a camera crew came by and filmed us and made us do a chant and dance...so I guess I was on Peruvian T.V....haha!
Also, as I mentioned, yesterday was election day, we are still waiting on results. There is one candidate that was in the lead, but I've heard he wants to run Peru like Hugo Chavez runs Venezuela and make all the foreigners leave...not positive, I've just heard that from a few people. But, from what I understand, they need a certain percentage to win, and nobody will prob. get there, so they'll have a run off between the top two competetors. And theis same guy (Ollanta) was in the same position last year, but lost in the runoff. So continued prayers for the one that would be best for God's plan to win would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

A Pleasant Surprise :)

This morning we had our first random drop in! Here, it is very acceptable to just stop by someone's house or to call just a bit before you go over. At 8 this morning (I was awake, but still in my PJ's, and Megan was still in bed)our doorbell rings. I was like who could that be...I tried to look out the window to see, since I was in my Pj's, but I could only see their legs. So I went downstairs to look and our phone rings, and it is one of the teachers from the school (actually she was a teacher from the school, but she got someone to replace her and is moving to Italy shortly; she will be missed)saying she was outside. She always told us she was going to come see our house sometime...haha! So I let her in and Megan cane down (also in her PJ's). It was so much fun. I love that she just randomly dropped in. We had tea and banana bread and talked for a while, it was really nice. I like the fact that it is culturally acceptable to visit without as much planning, I think it fosters relationships more. What a fun way to start the day!

I just realized the funniest and most exciting thing! The picture to the right is me and a little girl I met when I was here last time (3 years ago). Her and her little sister loved the Sapo (frog) song that we taught the kids. She would always find Alyssa and I and say "Sapo, sapo, Mamacita!" She is in my second grade class! I thought she looked really familiar, but I couldn't quite place why. Then I looked at the picture again and realized it was her! So fun:)