Faith & Flowers

Returning to Quietness

2011-07-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling, and you said,"No!" ~~ Isaiah 30: 15&16a

When you think of summer camp you do not usually think of quietness or rest. Instead you imagine screaming children, loud camp songs, sugar highs, and lots of whining about the heat and bugs. Although I've seen that side of camp this week, I've also gotten to see a different side of summer camp. I was invited to be "the missionary" (along with my friend and former mission partner, Autumn Croy) at Camp Pinnacle (A GA camp in Clayton, Georgia). Because we are the missionaries we do not have a whole lot of responsibility. We have had a time each day when we speak to the campers about our time serving as missionaries and then at night we have time with some of the counselors when they can ask us questions about missionary life. The rest of the time we are free to join in the activities or just relax on our own. So, needless to say I've been doing lots of relaxing and allowing God to remind me of His goodness and faithfulness throughout my life. Before coming here I went down to Alabama to see my Aunt and my mother and sister met us there. My aunt's house is an amazing Antebellum home that just takes you back to another era. It is the perfect place to rest and reflect. So, being there set me up for this relaxing week at camp.

I've been reading through Isaiah this summer and this week I have come to Isaiah 30. I came to verse 15 and have just read and reread that verse. --For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." -- These words have just spoken volumes to me this week. It's like I'm just drawn to read the verse over and over. In returning (another version says repentance) and rest you shall be saved. The story of my life is that I try to do everything on my own and I work really hard to do it. God has constantly and consistently reminded me to REST in Him and he will be my strength and through His power I will accomplish His purpose for me. So, I have had to return once again to God and his ways and his plan (which is so far above my own and NEVER the way I expect it to be) and repent of trying to do things on my own. And praise Him that he has given me this week of rest to just remember his love, faithfulness and mercy. And it is through keeping a quiet heart and trusting Him that He will provide strength for me to take the next steps of life. OR I can choose to be like Israel who said, "NO!"--But you were unwilling, and you said,"No!"(vs 16) -- and I can suffer the consequences of saying no to my Creator and doing things my own way. I've lived that way for far too long. So, I'm choosing to rest and trust in the One who knows me better than I know myself. However, I know I can't even do that on my own. As I was reading in Hebrews 4 today I was reminded of our great High Priest, Jesus who helps us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." -- So, that is exactly what I prayed today. Lord, because you say I can, I will boldly come before you and ask for your mercy and grace to help me during my time of need.

So, I'm thankful that I've had this week of rest. I pray that the things I'm learning this week will help me as I go back into a busy schedule and an important semester in which I'm making several life decisions.

He Clothes the Grass and Establishes Our Steps

2011-06-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:30 & 33

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him. . ." Psalm 103:15-17

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Lord, help me to seek your ways and trust in your steadfast love for my days on this earth knowing that you will complete what you began in me.

Identity Crisis

2011-06-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

"This overarching story [the story of redemption throughout the Biblical narrative] reflects the fact that our problem as human beings is deeper than the individual sins we commit each day, creating the specific problems that complicate our lives. Our deepest problem is that we seek to find our identity outside the story of redemption. If the entire goal and direction of our lives are wrong, we need much more than practical advice on how to do the right thing in a particular situation. We need a message big enough to overcome our natural human instinct to live for our own glory, pursue our own happiness, and forget that our lives are much, much bigger than this little moment of life. Every day, in some way, we buy the lies of autonomy and self-sufficiency, worshiping the creation rather than its Creator. . . Lasting change begins when our identity, purpose, and sense of direction are defined by God's story. When we bring this perspective to our relationships, we will have a dramatically different agenda. " -- Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands.

I started reading this book this week because I had always heard about it, my roommate had it (and every other book you can imagine!), and it's summer and I finally have time to read what I want!

The truth that Tripp points out here is so hard to remember during our day to day activities. It's so hard to look beyond the moment and realize our purpose is to worship God and give Him glory --not to make ourselves happy. I am not Lane Brown the Mississippi girl with feathers in her hair, seminary student, and Nanny of 3 girls. I am Lane Brown daughter of the King placed here during this time to worship God and tell his story. That is true whether I am in Mississippi, North Carolina, Peru, Ecuador, or the Ends of the Earth.

Lord, please help me to learn this. Remind me daily. Teach me your ways.

My life verse: "Teach me your way, Oh Lord, that I may walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11

La Casa de Fe and other ramblings

2011-06-12T19:06:00.000-07:00

The thing I love about blogging is that you can write whatever you want and it's up to the reader to decide whether or not it is worth it to wade through all the laborious musings of the author. This may be one of those blogs that ya'll only make it a few paragraphs into. . . :)

I will begin with Ecuador and a few of the things that God showed me, taught me, and challenged me in.

I went with my home church, First Baptist Church Brookhaven, MS, to Shell, Ecuador to work at the orphanage Casa de Fe. Patti Sue Arnold started the orphanage about 10 years ago with 3 special needs children in her home and it has grown to 63 children in a nice multipurpose building that has been built only by God's grace and provision. She takes in abandoned and special needs children. She now has a school within the orphanage and classes are taught mostly by American volunteers although the Ecuadorian government has provided one teacher for the pre-k children.

God taught/is teaching me that without Him we are all orphans. We are all fatherless and have no way to be at peace with our heavenly Father without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This truth and the numerous commands throughout Scripture that tell us to take care of orphans have really impacted me as of late. I do not know how God is going to use all of this in my life in the future (in terms of future career/ ministry), but I know for now that I want to be an advocate for the fatherless.

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary (lonely) in a home. . . " Psalm 68: 5 & 6a

Next I would just like to ramble a bit about something that God is teaching me at this stage in my life--His sovereignty and steadfastness. I had a wonderful mentor remind me of Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." It is so comforting to realize that we do not have to manipulate or create situations in our lives. God is the one who makes things happen. He has called us to share the gospel, love Him, and love others. When we devote our lives to this purpose (when we seek first His Kingdom and righteousness all else will be added to us) he will provide every single thing we need. If we have a concern then our first response should be to pray to the God who turns man's heart wherever he wills. This requires us to trust God. In our humanity we try to control things and make them happen the way we see fit, but God sees things from a higher and holy perspective. We should seek his wisdom and follow his guidance instead of expending needless energy on creating "what if" scenarios.

So, those are my thoughts for the evening. There is so much more between my time in Ecuador and the things that are on my heart and mind as graduation approaches in December, but I wanted to make this post short and get something on here before my Ecuador experience faded into the background.

p.s. In case you haven't noticed I like to post at least one flower picture and one verse on each entry since the blog title is "faith and flowers". ;)

School's out for the. . . SUMMER!!

2011-05-17T20:15:00.001-07:00

Summer is my favorite time of year. There is so much about it that makes me happy: the constant sunshine, the long, carefree days, no assignments, pools, lakes, picnics... the list is endless really. So, these last few weeks of school I was frantically finishing my last assignments and doing everything in my power to force myself into the dark air-conditioned classrooms. I took little time to think about much besides "the light at the end of the tunnel".
And finally, I finished my last assignment of my next-to-last semester of seminary last Thursday at about 1:30 a.m. This was a strange semester because I didn't have any final exams. All of my professors had us do final projects/papers and so I didn't have that extra week of stress that my fellow students are going through right now. Today was the very last class I had to attend and as I went in I wasn't thinking about much besides the fact that I was finished and it was FINALLY summer. I was just there to sit through the last presentations and say a couple of goodbyes.
However, as things were wrapping up I began to quickly realize that I wasn't ready for the semester to end. I had not thought about the fact that I wouldn't see many of my classmates again. Some will be going to countries all over the world, others will be moving back to their home states, and others I just won't see due to differing lives and schedules. As everyone was packing up and saying their quick goodbyes I got a little sad. I wanted to make a way to see each one of them again before I leave Friday night for a two week trip to Ecuador. But this was obviously impossible, so I covered up my disappointment with a few quick hugs and waves with promises to stay in touch.
Life is like this sometimes. We get so swamped with just trying to keep our heads above the water due to multiple assignments and work stress that we forget there are people, really sweet important people, in our lives everyday that we are rubbing shoulders with. I could be learning from these people, enjoying them, embracing the little moments and instead I'm running out the door stressing about what I have to do tonight and tomorrow. And before I realize it the days are gone and so are the chances to enjoy those people.
I hope that this will serve as a reminder for me to cherish moments and friendships while I can. But I also must embrace the inevitable change that comes with this phase of life. God is my strength, fortress and rock. He is the one who never changes and it is with his strength that I have the energy to love those around me.
Those are my thoughts for the day.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:. . . a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1&2

As Promised

2011-05-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

These are some of the flowers that I'm growing right now. The ones on the black stand are in my room. The rest are on my back patio. Love them! Bring color and joy to my days!

Renewed Ambition

2011-05-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well hello blogging world. I doubt any of my original followers remain after my nearly 3 years of absence from the blogging world. Fine with me. In many ways I do not even feel like the same person who started this blog five years ago. Two years in a foreign country, a Seminary education, and two dating relationships with unexpected endings will cause changes in a person. Hopefully, I have changed, grown, and matured into a better more God honoring person, but sometimes I wonder.

I'll start slow with this first new post. Maybe with a list of my favorite things and a list of some things I've discovered about myself.

Favorite Things:

1. Flowers (as indicated by this blog). I've really grown to love "gardening". Although the only edible thing I grow is tomatoes. Everything else is just really pretty flowers. My flowers this year are the prettiest I think I've ever grown. I don't have any great pictures of them (I'll post some later), but I'll show you a pic of some of the first verbena I ever grew.

2. Sea Turtles. I have always been a big fan of turtles and especially sea turtles. I'm a collector and I've been collecting turtle figurines since I was 7 or 8. Recently I asked my friend Lindsay Core to paint me a picture of a Sea Turtle. She did an amazing job!! See for yourself.

3. Gus. However, if you know me you already knew this!

Now for things I'm learning:

1. I'm not a "follow through" kind of person. I hate this. So, I have started a project for myself. I bought a journal yesterday. . . it is now 1 of about 5 sitting unfinished in my room. But I promise that this one is going to be different. This one I am going to write in everyday for at least this entire summer. That is the goal anyways. I'm off to a great start with entries from yesterday and today! :) Plus it's a really cute journal--
the actual reason I bought it!

2. I'm a planner. I plan way too much and much of it never happens, but this has never stopped me from making lists, buying planners, and keeping electronic sticky notes on my computer desktop. I just can't help it. Go ahead. Call me OCD.

3. I really do love the Lord Jesus Christ with my whole being. I want to honor, serve, and please Him so badly that it hurts sometimes. My prayer today comes from Isaiah 1 (Which is where I started for my summer of journaling in my new journal!)
Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
So, today I am praying for forgiveness from my sins of arrogance, vain worship, pride, and self-righteousness and I'm pleading that God will teach me to do good.
And along the same vein-- I will be going to help the fatherless in about a week and a half in Shell, Ecuador at an orphanage. www.lacasadefe.org.

4th of July

2008-07-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on my American Life. Chris arrived in Jackson on Monday June 30th. We spent the week helping him find his way around Jackson and just spending quality time together. This past weeked for the 4th we were able to see lots of friends and family.

The weekend started on Thursday night when Chris and I met up with several of my High School friends. We went to Mugshots and had a fun time visiting and eating a dang good hamburger (well everybody else ate a hamburger... i had a grilled chicken sandwich).

Friday we spent the day with the Varners-- a family that Chris worked with in Turkey. We had a great time eating good food, fishing at the pond, and shooting fireworks.

Saturday night we spent the time at my sister's house where we cooked out again. My daddy joined us and we all had a good time.

Then on Sunday after going to church at Pinelake we headed down to Brookhaven to meet all the family. Mama cooked a huge lunch: ribs, baked beans, twice-baked potatoes, bread, and homemade peach icecream. She made me a special little meal with Chicken and other things my belly can tolerate a little better. (i have the best mama in the world!).

After lunch, Chris, my sister, her husband, and I headed down to the creek behind mama's house.

Our dogs (Allie and Gus) loved it and I'll have to say I had a pretty good time myself!

It was a great weekend with lots of fun memories. I'm so glad Chris is here and we can start making these memories together!

Please Pray

2008-07-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I have a prayer request for all of you. A young man by the name of Greg Gomez died in an automobile accident in Peru on July 5th. He just graduated from Ole Miss in May with an engineering degree. He was serving as a Summer Missionary with the Reap South team. He was on the Research Team going to different remote villages finding people groups so that those groups can later be reached by Missionaries. He was on a combi (van-public transportation) when the van hit the side of mountain. He died of head injuries. Several others were injured. Two other young ladies were with him from the ReapSouth team--one of whom (Claudia) was my roommate in Peru. As far as I know the girls are doing fine, but they did have some injuries. This is all I know at this time.

Here is a news article about the accident: http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=149530

and for those of you who read spanish: http://www.correoperu.com.pe/correosur/cusco/nota.php?id=23716

Please keep the Reap South team and all of our summer missionaries in your prayers.

UPDATE:

I just spoke with Arnold (one of the Missionaries on the Reap South team). He says that because public transportation strikes are starting tomorrow they are having trouble getting Greg's body back to the U.S. Also, there is just tons of paperwork that has to be done in order to get him back. Please continue to pray for the team and the missionaries.

Thank you!

America-- original I know

2008-06-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Well now that it's been a good 3 months since I've even looked at this thing I figured it was time to get everyone updated. After writing this blog I plan to send one final Newsletter. I have by no means arrived home and been able to process everything in the last 3 months. I would say this is more like the beginning of the process, this blog may be my first real step to start embracing and understanding what has transpired in the last 2 years and how to move forward with what happened and changed in my life.

I guess I should go ahead and mention that when I arrived in the U.S. I freaked out in every possible way. Those of us who have lived in foreign countries for long know that American food can be pretty constant on our homesick minds. However, when you arrive in the U.S. you hit this sensory overload especially in the area of food. Just the idea that you could go to Arby's, Chic-fil-a, Quiznos, Atlanta Bread, Starbucks, and Wendy's makes your stomach and head swim... and that's before you ever leave your terminal much less the airport! There is a whole world of food out there, and if you are in my situation (where your stomach is a mess) you want to eat it all and are afraid to take a single bite. So, needless to say I dealt with that insanity for at least 2 weeks. Meanwhile, I was trying to get into the Doctor's office, get out of my mother's house, and find a job so that I could afford the outrageous gas that has gone up at least 80 cents from my arrival until today.

My first Sunday home just happened to be Easter Sunday. Great I think... the best Sunday of the entire year. I'm not only going to see every person that does and doesn't go to church I'm also going to get some good ole "Special Music" in the mix. Again, sensory overload. Before church was over I looked at my mother and asked her to drive me home. I pray the Lord has forgiven me for walking out on such a special Sunday.

I'm not one to sit still for long, so my mother's permission (more like longing) for me to stay in her back room until the day I die was a bit overwhelming. Needless to say I only stayed there for a grand total of 3 weeks. By week 2 I had completely exhausted every semi-exciting thing you can do in Brookhaven, MS. Going from 8 million neighbors to neighbors who consisted of my extended family was a bit claustrophobic.

I moved into an apartment in Jackson with no source of income by April 5th (I think--it's all a little fuzzy). The Lord blessed me with a job on my birthday (April 28th) so that I could pay my bills and keep my sanity. This job is a true blessing. The people I work with are wonderful and the pay is great for Mississippi. (Especially when people tended to continue asking me "and what kind of job experience do you have?"-- oh I don't know how about living as a single girl in a foreign country and culture doing everything that YOU do on a daily basis only IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE!-- excuse me, that was a tangent).

So, by May I had settled into this job and lifestyle and have been really enjoying myself for the most part. I attend church on Sundays at a Mississippi sized Mega-Church. Again, quite overwhelming, but now 3 months in I'm almost to the point of being able to concentrate without staring at the sheer number of people and size of the auditorium. I'm a work in progress for sure.

Lastly, but possibly most importantly, I was able to see Chris this past week. He just arrived back in the U.S. on May 31st. After a 10 day camping trip with his best friends he arrived in VA as did I for our debriefing conference. It was so great to see him and finally be in America face-to-face. I enjoyed my time at the conference and you can say that this blog entry is a result of me seeing my need to process what I've been through these past 2 years.

Chris and I in Wal-Mart (his first time there since arriving to the U.S)

The good memories are starting to come back and the stomach aches aren't at the foreground any more. I'm remembering why I left to live among the "nations" in the first place and how ready I am to go back. I do believe that I would eat only bread for the rest of my life if that was the only way for me to live overseas....then again, I've been labeled as dramatic! However, I do know that I am willing to go to great lengths to be on the field and I do pray that God gives me another chance in any country... just so long as He's doing the leading.

I guess I should also mention here that my stomach is returning to normal (whatever that is). After seeing a GI specialist and having a colonoscopy and endoscopy all the tests came back "normal". Once again I have been given the diagnosis of IBS--- meaning my stomach hurts when I eat. Thankfully I have found a couple really good books on the subject and I'm learning to control the pain with diet. I do not like how boring the new diet is (it pretty much takes away every Southern dish I've ever enjoyed), but I've learned to like it simply because I no longer have stomach pain.

Now, I will not apologize for the length of this entry because it's more for me than all of you anyways. But if you are still reading at this point I hope you enjoyed walking through the first months in America with me.

Thank you to every one of you who has read and prayed along with me over the past 2 years. It is possible that I will continue to write on here again in the future-- possibly just changing the blog title..... however, it's just hard to imagine that filling up my F150 at $4.00 a gallon can be as exciting as flying over the Amazon in a Cessna, hiking in the Andes to reach a some no-name village, or doing disaster relief in the Desert. The truth is though, the Lord has me here for now and I pray that I am just as willing and obedient to share His truth in my office as I am to hike through mud and muck to share that same truth.

Thanks again for your prayers. Leave some comments... if you like!

I love ya'll!!!!!!!!!

Last Sunset and the Strangeness of America

2008-03-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

This was what the Lord gave me the night before I left Peru. Thanks to Bobby Lane for stopping and letting Kristen and I take photos!

Now here are a few things that have seemed strange to me since I've gotten home:

1. I can order things with lettuce because it is okay to eat lettuce in the U.S. (however, i've yet to do so because there is still something in me that says, "don't eat the lettuce!")

2. I don't have to completely dry my glass after rinsing it with sink water...I can just put ice directly into it with no fear of Bacterias from either the water or the ice.

3. Those ice machines at Subway allow you to get as much ice as you could possibly want without having to ask the lady for more (and i don't have to have this conversation with the lady behind the counter: yes, i'm serious i would like more ice than that...yes, that is what i said MORE)

4. People don't expect you to greet them with Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening. In fact when you do so you are looked at strangely.

5. And finally, you can spend U.S. dollar bills that don't look perfect and the cashier will not hand it back and say that she wants a different one. However, I did feel like I had pulled a "fast-one" when the guy at Subway took my $5 that had an ink stain on it!

Last Class

2008-03-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today I had the privilege of facilitating an English Conversation Class. The class took place at a local English Institute called ICPNA. We had a great time discussing controversial subjects which required lots of thought and lots of speaking English. At the end of the class I asked the students if they had any questions for me. They proceeded to ask me the normal questions: Where are you from?, What do you do?, Do you like Peru?, etc. Then I had one student ask me: "How would you share with us the love of God?"! Whoa! I was so shocked. I proceeded to share the gospel with the class thinking, what a neat opportunity. After class I ran into the guy who had asked me that question and he told me that he was a believer and he just wanted to give me the opportunity to share in class! I was so thankful! God works in the neatest ways, and when we are least expecting it.

Now the reason I named this entry "Last Class" is because that Conversation Class was the last class I will be teaching in Peru. I have made the decision this week to return to the U.S. because of continuing medical problems. I feel a perfect peace from the Lord about this decision and I know that He is guiding me. I would appreciate your prayers as I will be returning "home" on Monday (March 17).

And here's one more picture for your viewing pleasure. This is my Bible Storying Class that I have been teaching on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. I was able to find a Dr. Pepper and let them each taste the goodness. They think it tastes like medicine!

Not an Author

2008-02-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I need to scratch the idea of writing a book because some days I can't even think of a decent blog entry. I mean it's not that I don't have the material for a good entry I just can't seem to put all of it into an interesting format.

I guess I'll start with what I know. I've been teaching my advanced English class every Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. By "advanced" I mean conversational. I'm not so good with the English grammar; therefore, we've been doing quite the opposite-- learning Southern slang. I like to hear "ya'll" and "ain't" come out of my students' mouths. I know you won't hear that from your average English teacher, but I've never claimed to be average.

We have been reading the "Southern Journal" articles from the last page of Southern Living magazines. The students seem to really be enjoying the classes. I decided that since most of the missionary volunteers that come to Peru are from the South it is important for our translators, a.k.a. my students, to be aware of Southern culture and idioms.

We are doing this because I decided I needed to regroup on my Bible Storying lessons. I was having trouble helping my students understand the need for Storying. They were doing a great job memorizing the stories for themselves, but I'm not sure I was expressing the importance of learning this as a method of sharing the gospel with others. So, this week I found several articles online from the IMB which explain the reasons and methods of Bible Storying. Next week we will begin again. I hope that as a teacher I am able to help them understand the concept.

On to other news. . .

Yesterday, Sandi and I were able to go with one of our students, Mijail, to his church. We went there because he is teaching English to a small group. He came up with the idea of teaching English in order to encourage people to come to his church. He invited us to come because he wanted them to be able to hear "real live English speakers" first hand. The whole trip was quite the adventure and we had a great time! Mijail came from his home to get us at our office at 4:30 p.m. We rode with him by bus back to his home/church. The trip took an hour and 15 minutes. We taught for about an hour and a half maybe. I can't really remember because the time flew by. We had so much fun. The group consisted of Mijail's brother, Father, and 3 other students. They all had great attitudes and came prepared with the questions they had been learning. We left and went with him to catch a bus back to our home after class. We stood on the street for quite a while waiting for the right bus, but it never came. So after about 20 minutes, at least, we decided we would have to take 2 different buses. Mijail rode with us on the first bus in order to help us catch the second one. Again, the bus we needed never came, but we found an alternate that actually took us very close to our neighborhood. I know you probably think it is crazy that I have lived in Lima for so long and can't even catch a bus by myself, but just come here and you will understand. On any given day the drivers don't even know which route they will be taking! So, we finally arrived home about 9:45 p.m. I'm so glad I was able to go! It was such a great experience to be able to go with a student to his neighborhood and to also see him teaching others what he has learned from us.

A sign at Mijail's church. It says, "The Bible: light for our district"

Mijail's father (his name is Pastor, but he's not a pastor, he's actually a communist!), Sandi, Priscila, Mijail's brother(sorry I forgot his name), Roger, and Mijail

Our second bus on the way home. The most comfortable, and by far the most empty. The others had been standing room only and no cushioned seats.

The rest of the pictures are from today:

I ran into the Extreme Team in town (a rare ocassion). They were passing through and they HAD to enjoy a good meal at Chili's. I enjoyed sitting and getting to know the girls.

The guys also enjoying a break from rice and sugar (the meal they have eaten everyday for a month!)

Thanks for suffering through the post.

I love ya'll!

Llama Tails

2008-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

I went to the Lima Zoo yesterday with a friend and his brother who is in Peru visiting. When I was invited my first question was "will there be llamas?" for you see I've missed these creatures something aweful. My buddy says, "I don't know we'll just have to see". So, as we are entering the gate my first question to the lady taking tickets was "Where are the llamas?". Well they were in the Sierra section of the zoo, of course. I was thoroughly excited when I saw a small field filled with llamas and alpacas and a few other breeds of similar animals. As we were passing by LJ, my friend, asks me, "Do you know how to tell the difference between a llama and an alpaca?". I reply with, well, the natives have tried to explain it to me, but I think they are just making it up. I mean some of them tell me that llamas are the big ones and some tell me that alpacas are the big ones. Some tell me one has more hair than the other (what about when you shave them.. how do you tell?) LJ, though, tells me that it's all in the tail. He says that "they" (the natives) told him Alpacas' tails are always up and Llamas' tails are always down! Now, go figure! Well, we are clearly not experts, but I sure did have a great time seeing my animal friends again. I've missed them since I had to leave the mountains. Too, I thought it was only fair that I dedicate a little blog space to my furry friends since, afterall, they were the inspiration for the blog title!

p.s. keep reading (below) to find out what else i did yesterday

Sellin' Shoes and Studyin' the Word

2008-02-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

This week I've had the awesome opportunity to hang out with some new friends at their place of business. I introduced my friend Tania to ya'll in the last blog entry. She is one of the students that comes to our English classes during the week. When I met her a few weeks ago I was really touched by her sweet spirit. I felt the Lord telling me that she would be a good person to invest my life into. So, last week I asked for her email address and asked if we could hang out sometime. She quickly agreed that that would be a great idea and so began a new friendship. I am very thankful that she invited me to spend time with her at the shoe store that she and her mom run. It is one thing to meet my friends at a restuarant or some other mutual meeting place, but it is something entirely different to spend time with them in their homes or, in this case, business. Thankfully, Tania lives and works within a short commute of my house. (This is usually not the case with our students. Many times they travel an hour or two on a bus to be able to attend our classes.)

So, I say all that to say... on Monday and Tuesday, I went with Tania to her store. I met her mom and friend, Noemi. Noemi works across the isle in another shoe store and also lives in the same building as Tania and her mom. On Monday we worked on Tania's English, ate lunch together, and the four of us studied the Bible. Tuesday I had less time to spend with them, but I was still able to eat and read a passage of scripture with Noemi. Noemi actually brought her Bible in anticipation of me coming to read with her! Not to mention, Tania sold a pair of shoes! For me that was one of the most exciting things about being with the girls. Peruvians work so hard to acquire a business. They spend all of their waking minutes working at that place and yet many times the economy just doesn't cooperate with their need to earn money. So, I was thrilled to be present when she sold a pair of 120 sole (about $40) shoes.

I will be going with the girls to Noemi's church on Sunday. She attends an evangelical church. Tania is not a member of a church, but we invited her to go with us on Sunday.

Tania and her mom working

Left to Right: Noemi, Me, Tania eating lunch in the store

Tania going upstairs to get shoes (the store is so small they don't have a back room to store things in, but instead store everything in the ceiling)

This is the neighboring store owner's child. Notice the blue string that keeps her from rolling too far!

Please pray for these relationships. Pray that we will have time each day I go to study the Bible and talk more about what it really means to follow Christ.

Valentine's Party con los estudiantes

2008-02-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

C-love, your wish is my command. Blog entry number 2 in the same weekend!

Last night we had our monthly English Fellowship Party. We always have about a bijillion more people come to parties than come to class. Okay so maybe only 50, but 50 is a lot! I asked them why everybody comes to the parties and not to class and they (the students) quickly told me that it's because Peruvians love a party! Well, that makes sense. I guess everybody would rather eat and make Valentine's cards than study.

Anyways, we did have probably about 50 students come. We talked to them some about what we do for Valentine's in the U.S. Susie wanted someone to tell a story about a good Valentine gift they had received and after plenty of awkward silence I spoke up and told them how Chris wooed me last Valentine's day. I really wish I had brought his card with me to the party since we were making Valentine's cards, but I just told them about it instead. Telling them that story served two purposes. Killing the awkward silence AND making sure all the guys knew I was taken. We made it very clear that the cards they made could not be given to Sandi or I. One pretty persistent guy wanted to know why he couldn't give me his card. I told him, "I already have a Valentine". First, I had to explain the whole idea of what a Valentine is as a person and then I happily explained who mine is!

This is the card that Chris made and sent to me last year for Valentine's Day. The rest is history!

My new friend, Tania. She was allowed to make me a Valentine card.

This is the card that Tania made for me. How sweet!

My table making their cards. I'm not quite sure what kind of pose I'm striking!

Some of the students. These guys were too cool to make cards.

Sandi and I actually went recruiting (for more advanced English students) on Thursday at one of the local English Institutes and the four guys above are some of the students we talked to.

This is one that I thought was really good! I told Javier that he is an artist. He was really humble about his creation.

A few of our students waiting patiently in the food line.

Well, I guess that's it. I had another really fun English class tonight and I forgot to take a picture of them again! But three of the people in the above picture are in my class. Hope this pleases some of you blog stalker types or just interested boyfriend types.

Doin' What They Do and King Cake

2008-02-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

I know it is now Saturday and I said last Friday that I would be doing a better job of keeping up with my blog. I mean, really, who wants to know more frequently than every week what I'm doing? But anyways, here is the next post whether some think it is late or others believe it to be right on time.

I really wanted to wait until I had a picture of my English class before I posted again, but I keep forgetting to take their picture. I guess I need to pencil that into my lesson plans. Even without a picture I can tell you that my class is going GREAT! I love my students and they tell me I'm a good teacher. Of course, they could be lying, but we have a great time anyways!

Even though I didn't get pictures of my class, I did manage to take several pictures of Peruvians at work this week. I was actually killing some time at a local park and started taking pictures of what people were doing around me. As I was leaving I walked about two blocks to my destination and realized that there were so many people working. I don't think I've ever really noticed how many people are working in the length of two blocks. There are the construction workers who whistle at me on a daily basis (maybe that's why I don't notice them, I have chosen to ignore them). But there are others, like the lady who works at a little corner fruit stand, men washing cars, guard for apartment buildings, and of course taxi drivers. So, I started taking pictures of these things just so I can remember the "normal" people of Peru. Then, I went to the Inca Market (the souvenir place) yesterday and saw a few of the vendors working on their goods. So, I asked some ladies if I could take their picture. Maybe it's me thinking ahead to the fact that I will be leaving soon and I just wanted pictures of the people or maybe it was sheer boredom. Either way, I hope ya'll enjoy some of the many jobs of Peru.
These guys were taking a break (it was siesta time). I think they are the park maintainace men.

This is an Ice Cream cart. They are on almost every block in Lima. They have a funny little whistle they blow to let you know that Ice Cream is close by.

This is a typical fruit cart that you find on lots of corners in Peru. You also see these carts filled with candy, cookies, and other junk food.

A man washing a car. Some apartment guards wash the cars of their tenants and sometimes random people just offer their car washing services. Either way you can get a very thorough car wash for about 15 soles ($5).

Construction worker. He appeared to be digging up the sidewalk and putting it in that dump truck. Not sure why.

This was one of the ladies in the market. She was working on her painting. I really wanted a candid, but when I asked to take her picture she posed (she was pretty shy about it too).

This lady is carving a gord. These things require sooo much time and talent. There are tiny little pictures carved all over. They are one of the more expensive things in the market because of the amount of time it requires to make them. This is one of the few things you can't talk them down on in price.

Another "normal" thing in Peru that I do not think will ever seem normal to me is the fact that people drink all drinks warm -- even soda drinks. I know this is not a shocker to all you people living overseas. I've read on many of your blogs that the locals in your country do the same thing. Maybe it's us Americans that are so different, heck, maybe all that ice does make us sick... who knows!! Anyways, I was in Burger King with some friends and there was a lady sitting next to us with two children. I looked over and noticed that she was pouring a steaming hot cup of water into the girl's Pepsi. I said, "Man, I wish I had a picture of that." Well, as I'm saying that she is telling the girl to go get a refill of hot water so that she can pour it into their other two drinks. So, as the girl goes for the refill I get my camera ready. After about 3 failed attempts I got a pretty good picture of the actual pouring action -- steamy hot water from a styrofoam cup into the Pepsi. Ah, Peru!
And lastly our King Cake Party. The Austins (http://hands-n-feet.blogspot.com/) are a good ole Louisianna family and they enjoy lots of the traditions that go with that state. (Including that purple and gold team so hated on my beloved Ole Miss campus) So, when Susie's friend, Kim, came all the way from Baton Rouge this past weekend with a King Cake mix in hand there was no doubt that they would be eating it on the day of Mardi Gras. They graciously invited over several of us single types (that never have food, much less cake in our homes) and it turned into a regular Austin Party. So here are a few photos from the night of Mardi Gras. It wasn't quite what you think of when you think "French Quater" and "Bourbon Street", but we did have beads!

Susie found the baby!!!

Highlights of the Week

2008-02-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

I have decided to become a better blogger. We will see how long this particular "kick" lasts, but hopefully for my readers' sakes it will last until I leave Peru at the end of May.

I want to start by giving credit to my wonderful boyfriend for redesigning my blog. Aren't ya'll impressed with his handy work? He was making changes to his blog on Wednesday and I got a little jealous and asked him to make mine look "prettier". And of course I had to work on the title, I'm mean how could it still be "Jungle Bound" when I left the jungle nearly 9 months ago now? So, we talked on skype and worked on the new look. He actually was able to put one of the photographs (the llamas) that I took up in the mountains and make it into the header thing. I'm just so impressed. He also added that little international counter thing to the bottom. So ya'll tell all your international friends to come and visit so they can be counted! If you want to tell Chris how well he did you can click on his link to the right and leave him a comment on his blog.

Chris--just in case ya'll forgot how cute he is (or maybe you never knew)

Now, on to the highlights of the week. Wednesday night I went to ESL class with my roommate. (My class will begin on Sunday night.) They have a rule in class that no one can use a Spanish word to explain something unless the teacher asks for the Spanish word. If the person does use a Spanish word they have to wear "Regina" until someone else slips up and uses Spanish.

The following is "Regina": The girl is not Regina, the hat is. This is Kristen (one of my roommates) wearing the hat after Solomon (a good friend and one of our translators) tricked her into speaking Spanish. Daniel, a student, asked me if I had a camera so that I could take her picture. So, I did, but ironically the very next person to speak Spanish was Daniel. He wasn't quite as excited about me having my camera with me then!

Daniel

After class several of us went to McDonalds so that we could eat french fries with ice cream. Solomon LOVES ice cream and several of our summer missionaries from last year had told him how good french fries and ice cream are together (you dip the fries into the ice cream-- usually done with frosties at Wendy's, but we had to improvise). So, we promised him that when we returned from Chile we would go get some french fries and ice cream.

Here we are. . .

Annibal y Solomon (two of our ESL students)

And last but not least, today my roommates and I had a day out with the girls. A couple of girls from Delaware are helping an ISC couple here with their English ministry and the girls will be leaving on Sunday. So, they invited us to go hang out at a local pool and then have a homemade supper afterwards. It was so much fun to hang out with them and hear about how the Lord has led them thus far in their lives. We just sat around sharing testimonies and listening to one another. And of course there was talk of boys and love-- I mean what girls' outing is complete without that?

This would be me going down the slide at the kiddy pool, yes i said kiddy pool

Judy fixed us an amazing meal when we returned from the swimming pool. We had roast with potatoes and carrots, an amazing salad with Bacos and Ranch dressing all the way from the states, and an apple pie a la mode that was out of this world! Oh, and dare I forget the sweet tea?!

I was pretty excited about the ranch dressing!

But before digging into all of that I decided that it was time for my braids to come down. All the girls helped me get them down and the reverse process was 3 hours less than the ordeal 2 weeks ago.

The girls patiently taking down my hair

Enjoy the crimped look all over again (is anyone besides me having flashbacks to the 80s?):

Ya'll leave me some comments and let me know what you think about the all new "Llama Tales".
I love ya'll!

p.s. I washed my hair and it's back to normal... just in case ya'll were worried. :)

Chile

2008-01-30T05:54:00.001-08:00

part of my team in the Lima airport before leaving to fly to Chile
from left to right: brad, mike (my boss), Kathy (mike's wife), Sandi (my roommate)

Tuesday morning around 2:30 a.m. I returned from a wonderful week of fellowship and learning. The Lord really used this past week in Chile, where we had our annual mission meeting, to renew my passion for the lost and my energy for each new day!

i loved the sunshine!
We started each day around 9 a.m. with worship music and a sermon. Several members (including their pastor, youth minister, and music minister) from First Baptist Church Tupelo, MS came to volunteer their time. They served us by leading our times of worship and also taking care of the children during our sessions. Bro. Randy Von Kanel spoke to us each morning from the book of Luke. The Lord really blessed that time each day. It was during those sermons that God really began to speak and minister to my heart. After months on end of sickness I realized that my heart had really become hard and closed. Bro. Randy talked to us about the wilderness experience that we often face as believers, but we are not there alone and certainly not without reason. Our own Lord and Savior had to go through the wilderness where he became completely dependent on the Father. We can't truly follow Jesus without following him to the wilderness (where we will be tempted) and then on to Calvary. Bro. Randy really brought us back to the fundamentals of the Christian faith and God spoke to me each day through His word. After these times of worship we then had morning and afternoon sessions with Dr. Jim Slack. Dr. Slack works in the research and global outreach department of the IMB. He is an amazing man who has more knowledge than I thought was possible. He talked to us about Worldview, Heart Language, the History of the Church, and numerous other thought provoking subjects. I went away each day thinking about how I could better serve my people group here in Lima. All the statistics he brought to the forefront also made me wonder how I could ever NOT be a missionary. There are so many people who are still so lost in their sin. Someone MUST go to them. Again even in the midst of all these never ending statistics and people group histories my passion for the nations was renewed.

Then there was the food!!! I think I could live the rest of my life in Chile just for the food. Each day for lunch we had a buffet that consisted of 5 tables of food choices and then dessert!! There was always a soup, then you could choose a meat, cooked vegetable, and salads. There were also amazing french fries everyday (for the kiddos---and other more picky adults, no names will be mentioned). Then the real kicker was that right after you had enough time to finish your meal a table of ice cream would be rolled out and beside it another table would be filled with fresh fruit. I broke all the "bland diet", no raw fruits/veggies rules that I have been placed on. And you know what... I didn't get sick once! Chile was good for me in every way.

It stayed daylight until nearly 9:30 everyday and the sun was bright and warm until at least 8 p.m. I enjoyed the sun each day after lunch before having to return to the air conditioned conference room for more sessions.

We left our little valley town at 10 a.m. on Monday morning and headed to the Santiago mall. Our team from Lima had been looking forward to the rumored Subway Sandwiches for about 2 weeks. Sure enough the land of fresh bread and lunch meats was there. I indulged in a footlong (or 30 cm if you like) Subway melt (that somehow never got melted because Chile's Subway decided the toaster oven wasn't that important for their business) with chips and a drink. I ate all but about 3 bites and enjoyed every bit of it!

i was kinda excited. . .

the austins had been looking forward to Subway also

I then proceeded to Starbucks where I slurped down a Carmel Frappacino. About 30 minutes later I made my way to an ice cream shop and finished off the afternoon with a giant waffle cone filled to overflowing.

i think i gained a few pounds

From the mall we went on to an Artisania market where I bought a few little souvenirs then we were on our way to the airport.

Between the food, fellowship, and fun I think I have been thoroughly refreshed. We'll see how Peru treats my system for the next four months. I am confident, however, that if the Lord has led me this far He has no intention of giving up on me now.

"We are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul." -- Hebrews 10: 39

i love ya'll!

A Wild Hair...

2008-01-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

. . . Quite Literally!

Yes, I am crazy. I have no idea why I wanted to do this, but the idea just struck me last night right before bed. Since it was right before bed, I ended up dreaming about an entirely braided head. Once an idea is in my mind it is not easily laid to rest, so after lunch today I started calling beauty shops. I looked in the YellowPages for a salon that was open on Sundays and close to my house. The first one I called said they could do "trenzas" so 30 minutes later I was sitting in the salon chair! Now 4 hours and 30 minutes later I'm telling ya'll about it. Yes, you read that right FOUR HOURS.... who knew!! Oh well, I've always wanted braids and now I have them.

Back from my Italian Vacation

2008-01-12T11:18:00.001-08:00

hey ya'll!!

I had such an amazing time in Italy! I returned from my trip this Tuesday (the 8th). I was in Italy for about 10 days. I traveled to Venice, Florence, and Rome.

I have uploaded some of my pictures to my shutterfly account. Please check them out at: www.lanembrown.shutterfly.com

And here's a couple pics just so you can have a preview:

Also, for stories about our vacation go to Chris' blog at www.singtothemorninglight.blogspot.com/

He does a much better job of expressing the written word than I could ever do. Continue to check there for updates on the whole vacation... he's going to write about it in parts.

In case you do not get my updates I just want you all to know that my health is doing SOOO much better. I feel nearly 100% now and I'm ready to take on my last 5 months here in Peru.

I will be helping my team here in Lima for the rest of my term. I will be mainly working with our English Fellowship Ministry. I plan to teach an advanced storying class beginning at the end of this month. I will also be helping my roommate do recruiting for our English classes and helping her in any other way I can. We will have many college summer missionaries coming at the end of May and there is always lots to do to get ready for those guys.

Thanks for all of your prayers!

i love ya'll!

about time for an update...

2007-12-22T12:18:00.001-08:00

hey ya'll,

this month has been challenging in a lot of ways, but things are beginning to get brighter.

last Friday (the 14th) i met with a nutritionist. he put me on an EXTREMELY bland diet. it will be easier for me to tell you what i can eat than what i can't eat.

things Lane can eat:
meat with mild seasonings (no pepper, no lemon, no soy sauce....)
pasta with olive oil (Praise the Lord for olive oil!)
rice
potatoes(no butter, no nothing)
white bread
refined cereals
jello

are you getting the idea? thankfully i am able to use milk without lactose, but i can't have any other dairy.

i have had to write down every morsel that i put into my body on a calendar.

the good news is that my body is recovering. i haven't had nearly the stomach pain or problems that i have been having. the most difficult part is eating these things while everyone around me is eating holiday goodies.

i went back to the nutritionist yesterday (the 21st) and i have to remain on this bland diet one more week. i was pretty disappointed in this news, but thankfully i will be able to start adding more variety the following week.

the week of my vacation to Italy (Dec. 28th - Jan 8th.) i will be able to eat cooked veggies and he told me to try dairy foods slowly building up. i will still have to write everything down and i will go back to see him in one month.

i am thankful to finally see improvement in my health. i am extremely thankful to all of you for praying me through this time.

starting in January i will have a new job description so that i will be able to stay in Lima for the remainder of my term (May 30, 2008). i am not sure at this time what the new job will entail, but i will do my best to keep ya'll up to date.

i hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

i love ya'll!

Elf! Just call me "Buddy"!

2007-12-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

check it out!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1170880668

AND i really did update my picture page today... sorry about the earlier post that said I had new pictures when I actually did not...

www.lanembrown.shutterfly.com

13 Soles down the drain?

2007-12-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

So, I thought it was time for a more entertaining blog. Lucky for us... I had something rather entertaining happen to me today!

I walk down stairs bright and early (about 11:00 a.m.) and decide to make some Bisquick biscuits straight from my mother with love. As I am getting things ready I immediately notice the state of our kitchen -- quite disgusting. I figure it is time to get a handle on this mess and then I see the source of the problem--the kitchen sink is clogged. Yep, lots of nasty dishes sitting in even nastier water. So, I left the biscuits in the oven and went to the corner store to see if they had some drain-o. No such luck. So, I texted my roommate, asked her to take the biscuits out of the oven, and I was going to the grocery store. I couldn't handle the mess any longer. I went to a larger grocery store found the biggest bottle of drain-o that Peru makes (costing the grand total of 13 soles... 4 and some odd American dollars) and came home. I poured the entire bottle down the drain and I think all I accomplished was making the sink fuller! So, it was time to get serious. I went and got my knife (with a handy screw driver) and started taking a shelf out from under the cabinet so I could get to the pipe. As I started on the first screw Kristen (my roomie who was helping with all this) let me know that the drain-o had kicked in and the sink had started draining! Well, that is all fine and well, but things were still moving a little slow and I figured it was still time to get to the bottom of this clogged drain. I put a large pitcher under the pipe and it was time to see what was holding up progress down there....

Can you see it? Wait, maybe the picture isn't large enough... here is another:

and one more, just for good measure:

Well, there you have it my friends. A Knife, in my sink! Welcome to my life... it is always quite entertaining!

I think this can definitely be added to the list of strange things I've done in Peru.. right up there with killing a baby snake with my machete. Okay, maybe it doesn't rank that high, but I think I'd rather play with a snake than touch that nasty goo that has been sliding around in my sink for months.

Hope ya'll enjoyed!

Continue to pray for my stomach and the decisions that I am going to have to make this month.

new pics

2007-11-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

i just added three new albums to my shutterfly site. check them out.

www.lanembrown.shutterfly.com

"Home" Again

2007-11-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

Friends and Family,

I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated you on my life. I have been in the village of Lampa since October 13th and I returned to Lima the day before Thanksgiving. While in Lampa my teammates and I looked for opportunities to disciple believers and to also evangelize. We showed two different movies in the Municipal Theater in order to present the gospel. We had many youth come to these movies. We probably had 100 at the first movie and around 60 at the second.

We had Bible studies on Sunday nights and Tuesday nights each week. We had a steady group of 4 or 5 who were either believers or persons who were very interested in learning more about the Bible. We also talked on the local radio three times a week in order to teach more about the Bible. We taught on the radio every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I spoke each Monday for about 30 minutes. Some of the topics we spoke about were Salvation, Following Christ, Love, and many others. We had many people tell us that they listened to our radio show and I really think it was a great way to get the word out to the people.

We also visited a couple more remote communities/villages each week. We visited one village named Huayta Central where a man named Juan and his wife Rosa and children live. Juan is a strong believer who is studying his Bible and sharing his faith with others. It was an encouragement to be able to share with him and encourage him each week. We also were able to talk with a group of men in the community of Tusini Grande about 3 different Saturdays. There were a couple of these men who were very interested in the Bible and had lots of good questions for us. Pray that a seed has been planted among them and that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their lives.

Continue to also pray for Senor Mendez (our hostel owner and prospective leader of the church in Lampa), as well as Carlos (a local teacher and coach), and a young man named Alex. We also had a lot of interest from some young people. One young lady named Damaris and a young man named Alejandro. I believe that both of these young people really understood and desired to truly study the Bible. It is always difficult to leave a place because you have to trust that the Lord is in control to continue the work that was started.

I have several other prayer requests for you also. While I was in Lampa my stomach began acting up again. I talked to my Doctor through email and he put me back on some medicine. I also went to see him as soon as I got back in town. As a matter of fact I went to see him at 9 on Thanksgiving morning. We talked in his office for a while then he issued some tests for me to have run. I had my blood drawn that day. The following day he called and said that I would need to have further tests done on my Thyroid. I had those tests done on Friday and Saturday. Currently I am waiting for the results of those tests. I will most likely talk to my doctor again on Monday... at the latest Tuesday.

I had planned to go with my team to Nazca for a training event; however, my doctor informed me on Friday that I would need to stay here. So instead of going I will be babysitting my Boss' dog and resting until I hear from the Doctor.

This latest episode with my stomach is making it more clear that I will probably not need to continue traveling the way I have for the past several weeks. We have all but decided as a team that I will not continue traveling as I have been doing. Instead, I will have to be placed somewhere where I can find the foods that I need to have a consistent diet. I'm not exactly sure what this means for my future. My boss is working very hard to find something for me to do here in Peru. The most important thing, however is finding the source of the problem.

Please pray that my doctor will be able to tell me what is going on with my body. Also, pray that my boss will have wisdom as to where I should work for the next 6 months before my term is over. Pray that we (my boss and I) will be open to the Lord's will no matter what that means.

And finally, do not think that all this sickness ruined my Thanksgiving meal! It did not. When I got home from the doctor on Thursday I made a green bean casserole! I think the thing I was most thankful for this year was CANNED GOODS! Last year I had to make my green bean casserole from scratch, but thanks to volunteers and my mama I had all my ingredients in a can! It was amazing how much smoother the cooking went this year! We had about 50 missionaries together at my Boss' house for Thanksgiving lunch. The food was amazing- just like home! My doctor told me to go ahead and enjoy myself because he knew it was Thanksgiving, but to start a more bland diet after that big meal. I have been doing my best to eat smart, but I have always loved food that is not so good for my insides. Pray that I will have self-control to eat the things my body needs.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please do not worry about me. I have a great doctor and a great team who are taking care of me. The Lord is in control and I am trying to take each day at a time and learn everything the Lord wants to teach me through this.

I love ya'll,
Lane

Lampa

2007-10-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends,

I just wanted to give a quick update on what I've been doing here in Lampa. Kristen and I arrived in Lampa last Monday. We stopped through Arequipa to visit a couple of our friends who are living and working there. We hit the ground running on Tuesday and went to the Radio Station and Municipal building to try and get some public shows going. We were able to get 30 minutes each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a Radio Show. When Kristen went to do her show last Friday the guy ended up giving her 45 minutes. So we paid for 30 minutes for 3 times a week for a month and we are getting 45 minutes for that price. We also were able to book the days of October 31st and November 8th to show a movie in the Municipal Theater. The movie we are showing is called "La Esperanza" which means "The Hope". It is a very thorough movie that teaches the Bible from Creation to the End in Story form. I am excited about those days, please be praying for them as well as our days on the Radio. I had my first show on Monday the 22nd. I really enjoyed myself and a Peruvian friend of mine, Claudia, told me that my pronunciation of Spanish was well done. I am thankful for that, in that hopefully those who were listening were able to hear, understand, and comprehend the Truth of Jesus Christ.

We have had a group from the church in Lithia Springs, GA here with us since last Thursday and they left yesterday. They are the church who has adopted the area of Lampa (adoption of areas by U.S. churches is REAP's strategy for reaching South America). We stayed very busy the days they were here. We visited several village communities as well as having 3 very good church services on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. Brad, Kristen, and I will continue and followup with the things we did last week. We also have a strong vision for the youth and young people of this area. We have come up with several ideas for reaching and being part of the community here.

Please pray for Fransisco, Carlos, Alex, Italo, and Senor Mendez as they are the men that we are working to invest in and grow as leaders of Lampa. Several of them have lots of potiental. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in there lives and they will be motivated to reach their own community for Christ.

I will try to keep ya'll updated weekly as to our work here in Lampa. I will be back in Lima on Thanksgiving in order to celebrate with my team there. Until then keep praying for the village of Lampa. Pray that the people's eyes will be opened and they can break the chains of rote religion that has been handed to them for centuries and see that they can see there is freedom in Christ.

You can see some pictures of my visit to Arequipa on my picture page. www.lanembrown.shutterfly.com or just click on the link to the Right that says "ALL MY PICTURES". enjoy! and i will try and post some from here in Lampa when I have acess to fast internet.

new picture site

2007-10-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll,

i'm working on putting all my pictures on a new site called shutterfly. i deleted facebook so you can't access my pictures that were on there any more. sooo, i created this:

www.lanembrown.shutterfly.com

you can also click on the link to the right ----> ALL MY PICTURES and it will take you straight to them.

i'm working on putting them in categories of my life since i came to Peru last August. i doubt anyone has that much serious interest in my life, i mean, it's like over 400 pictures and i haven't even finished yet. But hey, some of ya'll might be really bored one night... and i just want you to know that i'm here for ya'll... or my pictures are anyways!

also, just to let you know... my wisdom teeth came out this past Friday. i'm still having a small amount of pain and pressure/tension, but i think overall i'm recovering well.

i will be leaving for the mountains again on either Saturday or Sunday after i have my stitches removed on Friday. i am looking forward to this trip. Pray that it will be fruitful and the work there in Lampa will multiply.

Thanks!

i love ya'll!

mountain roads and the many ways to travel them

2007-09-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

hey friends,

i'm back from an exciting adventure to the mountains surrounding the the coastal town of Chincha. We visited Chincha and the surrounding mountain areas for the purpose of research. Our boss needed to know how many people lived in each village (we visited 4 and stayed in 3) and if there was any type of hostel, food, or fuel in these areas. The information is needed for when a U.S. church is looking to adopt an area they will have an idea of what they are getting into.

Chincha is about 3. 5 hours from Lima and the surrounding mountain villages that we visited were anywhere from 4 to 10 hours from Chincha. i learned that there is no one way to get from one village community to the next, in fact, i was able to personally expierence 4 different modes of transport. let me show you:

1. first mode of transportation, the "happy bus" as noted by this sign above the driver's head. we sat on this baby for about 9 hours up and down some of the steepest, narrowest roads i have ever been on. thankfully we had a seat on the inside vs. the roof!

some of our fellow travelers weren't quite so blessed so they made themselves comfortable with the luggage up top...

2. second form of transportation, a tractor. we sat *cough* comfortably in the trailor for about 5 hours. it actually brought back childhood hayride days for me.

kristen and i seated in the trailor beside a nice drum... the ppl were going to the next village to give a concert... how nice a random, at least they gave us a mattress to sit on!

3. we sat in the front seat of this bad boy for the record of 10 hours. a nice man who went back and forth from this village, where he cut wood, to the town of Chincha, where he delivered it, gave us a ride. we left at 3 p.m. and arrived at 3 a.m. with a two hour nap on the side of the road at 10:30 p.m.

4. this was our final form of mountain transport. these trucks are called "mixtos". not exactly sure why, but there are three rows of seats in the cab, and about 6 rows or benches up top where people can sit. the trucks also haul produce and other things that may need to be transported to the villages... in this case, mattresses.

here is a shot of the inside. notice how the cab has been cut and a wooden cab has been built around it. not sure how this works...and i'd rather not know. it got me up the mountain, that's all that matters.

here is one of the more tame portions of the road which we traveled a total of 4 times in one week.

now, all those hours of transportation can really allow for lots of thinking time. i don't know about ya'll, but driving and riding have always served the purpose of helping me think through tough issues and spiritual matters as well. i've never been able to read on a moving vehicle(and i didn't bring my MP3 player on this trip); therefore, after a combined 32 hours of mountain travel not including the 3. 5 hours each way to and from Lima i think i've pretty much thought through every aspect of my life. please allow me to share a bit of that with you.

God has been working on my faith here lately. do i really believe Him? of course i believe IN Him, but that's not the question. do i believe Him? when He gives me a promise like "He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it" or "i will never leave you or forsake you" do i BELIEVE Him? i'm confessing to you that i haven't always had the best ability to trust, but God is really doing a work in me. i really think the scary mountian roads and the not so reliable transportation or scheduling of transportation has increased my faith more than i can understand. by being able to pray that the bus would kick into gear and make it up the mountain and then immediately feel the result of that prayer increased my faith. then to pray for a place to stay when we got to the next village and then be able to sleep in a bed when i got there showed God's provision in a real way. i guess this thinking is pretty simplistic, but isn't the gospel and doesn't it all hinge on belief? during this week in the mountains i didn't trust "chance" that those needs of provision and safety would be met, but i definately believed God that He was going to provide every need. all in all this adventure has refreshed my walk with my heavenly Father.

Please click on the "ALL MY PICTURES" link to the right --> to see more pictures from my trip!

does not seek its own

2007-09-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Is life not just a daily lesson in love? This central theme of the Bible seems to have recently seeped into every corner of my existence. From disaster relief work in Ica to living with 4 new roommates, God is reminding me that we have been placed on this Earth to show His love and to also experience the love that He desires to give to us. It is amazing to me how He is constantly surrounding us with people that both need to feel His love through us and also those who fill our need for that same love. God tells us in His Word that the world will know we are His disciples if we love one another... how do we show this? We mourn with those who mourn and we rejoice with those who rejoice. I find it easier at times to mourn with those who are mourning, for example those who have lost everything in this earthquake, verses rejoicing with those who rejoice. I guess I am able to be happy for people, but I think at times it is just easier for me to relate to their pain. Or maybe it's because when you are in pain or difficult to understand times in your own life it is hard to understand the joy of others. However, we are not given an option here. We are not told to rejoice with others when we too are rejoicing in our own lives. The Word doesn't say you can choose one over the other, but instead in the previous verses it says "let love be without hypocrisy".

All of this is still so very difficult for me. I feel like my love is filled with hypocrisy everyday. I guess the best thing to do is just to let go of my need to "do well". My heart's cry is to have Christ's attitude and His servant nature. Please pray with me that I will learn to love and that God will get the glory.

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. I Corinthians 13:3

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. I Peter 1:22

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34

For more pictures of Ica click the "ALL MY PICTURES" link to the right --->

I love ya'll!!

Ica- Disaster Relief

2007-09-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let ya'll know what I've been up to. Life has been a little crazy here lately. After returning from the U.S. I stayed busy working here in Lima in order to get food and supplies prepared to send to Ica. I was also asked to stay at the Brinkley's house in order to watch their house and dogs the weekend of the 24th -27th. Then on Tuesday (the 28th) I finally got my opportunity to go down South and help with the relief work! Yay! I was sooo excited! This is what I've been waiting for my whole life. I just love helping people. I talked to my Mama today and she said that everybody back home is very happy for me right now because they know this is what I've always wanted to do. And they (or ya'll I should say) are right... I've waited my whole life for an opportunity like this. So, I was only able to stay in Ica two days, but they were both incredible. The first day I arrived I was able to help the ladies cook lunch and clean for our teams coming in. That afternoon we went out into a community named "El Olivo". This place was unreal. Every house in the community was destroyed. The day I went we gave them blankets, one per family. In the days before they had received food from us for their community kitchen. In order to receive foods for the community kitchens the people have to have their communities organized into families. We give food to the community kitchens and they feed the entire community for a week or so at a time. We return to these communities to check on them and just talk with the people. The day I was in El Olivo I had the opportunity to talk with several women for a couple hours. They are all so open to the gospel. They have been so close to death and are really thinking in terms of eternity. I met a lady named Margarita and her granddaughter Pamela. They took me to their house (the remains) and introduced me to the daughter and I think the daughter's husband, but he could have been the grandfather. It is hard to tell sometimes. But they allowed me to take pictures and they told me their story about the night of the earthquake. Standing in the middle of the remains of their house was just unreal. I couldn't even really grasp where I was. I can't imagine what these people are thinking. I went to another community and was standing with a lady beside the remains of her house and suddenly an adobe brick fell off the back of the house. It was so unnerving. It really made me wonder how these people were feeling the night of the quake with everything falling around them.

Here are a few photos to give you an idea:

Margarita and Pamela in the front doorway of the remains of their house

the back doorway

Margarita, her daughter (doing laundry) and her granddaughter in their makeshift house

Me chatting with a few ladies

the sign on the front of the community center

I came back from that trip on Thursday (the 30th). I am staying at the Brinkley's house again this weekend so that both of them can be in Ica. I will leave again on Monday morning at 6 a.m. to go to Ica again. Hopefully I will be able to stay a little longer this time.

The people who are there now are going to start Bible studies in some of these communities tomorrow. Please pray for them and me as we teach the Bible in these devastated communities. I am thrilled to be able to help in this way.

I haven't had time to sleep in my own bed for a very long time now. I am learning that for now my life is not going to be a settled one. I talked to my Mama today and she said she knew when I was born I would always be on the go, after all, I was born feet first.
So, I'm outta here! I love ya'll!

To see more picture of Ica click the "ALL MY PICTURES" link to the right ---->

remember to read Kevin's blog and the ReachPeru updates. http://swisa.blogspot.com/, www.reachperu.com/reliefinfo

Earthquake Relief Information

2007-08-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to give a quick update about what the IMB in Peru is doing in response to the recent earthquake.

I personally have been able to help with a few logistics here in Lima. Yesterday, Pam and I went with one of our Peruvian friends downtown to buy medicine in bulk. The meds went down with a team this morning. Today, I'm at our mission office in the "command center" doing whatever I'm asked. This weekend I will be house/ dog sitting for the Brinkley's (they are the administrative folks in Peru and are now the disaster relief coordinators) because they will both be down in the Ica area.

I hope I will get to go South here soon, but I'm waiting my turn. Until then, you can read all about what we are doing at www.reachperu.com/reliefinfo or
Kevin's blog: http://swisa.blogspot.com/

i love ya'll!!

pics of my apartment

2007-08-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll,

i bought a camera while i was in the U.S. so i decided to take some pictures of my new room here in Lima. some of you had asked what it looked like... so here you go...pretty and pink!

my bed, and fun new paintings from the market hanging there on the wall

bookshelf, a cute little pink chair where i sit to work on my computer... those big windows are all the way across that wall... i love 'em!

bathroom

well, i hope ya'll enjoyed 'em.

and an update on the earthquake relief... some of our missionaries went down to the affected area today to assess the situation. they will be letting us know if there is any way we can help and they may request volunteers and relief money... i will keep you updated. i'm itchin' to get down there, but i'll just wait until i'm called on:)

love ya'll!

this is the link to Kevin Shearer's blog: http://swisa.blogspot.com/ he is giving daily reports about the earthquake and how IMB missionaries in Peru are helping! Kevin's family is who i stayed with in Lima while sick. check out the blog!

safe and sound

2007-08-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

hey friends,

i'm sorry that i've neglected to update this blog for like a month now... i really don't have an excuse, but anyways.

i made it home to the U.S. for my vacation. i took 10 days in order to be in my best friend's wedding and visit with my family. it was a fast-paced trip and i missed out on seeing several of ya'll. however, i was able to update the folks at FBC Oxford and i really enjoyed seeing all of you. and again, i really appreciate the support that all of you have given me.

i managed to stuff myself with every kind of American food that i have missed out on the past year and i'm pretty sure i drank more sweet tea than any normal human can possibly hold... but i'm still alive!:)

i flew in to Lima last night. i was in the air when the 8.0 earthquake hit in the South of Peru. there was no damage done here in Lima and my friends picked me up from the airport as planned late last night. all i really know about the earthquake is what i have read from news sources. i haven't heard of anything that our missionaries are doing as far as relief work, but if i hear of anything i will let you know. personally i would love to get down there and get my hands dirty, but i'm not sure it is feasible at this time.

i think i will be leaving for my next trip to the mountains in September, but i do not have an exact schedule at this time. while i'm here in Lima I will continue to contact young ladies and lead them in some discipleship. please pray for me that i will be intentional with my relationships with these girls.

it is good to be back here. i'm thankful that i have another 10 months here in Peru to be obedient in my calling. please pray that i will listen to and follow the Lord's direction everyday, that i won't pass up opprotunities to share God's love and that my attitude will reflect our Savior.

thanks again for your prayers. if you would like to see my pictures from my time at home you can follow these links:
http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2090152&l=35369&id=6518921
http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2091122&l=f4d76&id=6518921

i love ya'll

this is Kevin Shearer's blog: http://swisa.blogspot.com/. he is giving daily updates about the earthquake and what IMB missionaries in Peru are doing to help. keep checking back to that blog for new information.

not a word little girl. . .

2007-07-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll,

just thought i'd catch you up on the latest happenings. i haven't really been doing anything here lately, except that i managed to get a pretty rough cold while in Lima. nearly everyone gets sick during a Lima winter (it is winter here in Peru right now) and that did not exclude me :). i went to the doctor on Friday night and he told me that i could not speak for three days. . . and what is worse, Mr. Kevin isn't allowed to talk for 3 days either. Poor Mrs. Pam has been bored out of her mind. my ears are all plugged up and my chest is pretty congested. . . i'm on all kinds of medicine that was suppose to make me sleepy, but it kept me up all night last night!

i was suppose to go on a short 6 day trip to the mountains to translate for a volunteer group, but i got sick and can't talk. that kinda puts and end to translating!

besides that i should be moving into my apartment on MONDAY!! yay! my new roommate flies in on Monday night and i'm suppose to be able to talk again on Tuesday. so i'm looking forward to a good week.

really that is about all that is happening. i have some kinda funny Doctor stories, but i just don't have the energy to tell them right now!

i love ya'll!!!!!!

A Month in the Life of Lane

2007-07-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Ya'll!!

My Team: Me, Brad, and Beth

I am back in Lima resting after a long month in the Southern Mountains of Peru. I had a wonderful time in the Pueblo of Lampa. I was working along side of Beth Dowdy (a Volunteer from Georgia). We worked together to intertwine our lives with those of local believers. Carlos, a Coach at a local school in Lampa, was our number one disciplee (is that a word?). We spent nearly every night with him teaching through the Bible and the importance of taking what you have learned and sharing it with those around you. Two of his young friends Italo and Alex joined us many nights during our Bible study times.

We also had the opprotunity to go further out to some small villages and teach Bible stories to some children and in one community we met with a local believer, Juan. He was a very teachable man and seemingly influential in his community. We sat and talked with him for about three hours one day. He was very caught up on his poverty here on Earth and I simply reiterated that we are not able to control our earthly circumstances, but we are promised a reward in Heaven --- that is our goal. His eyes seemed to light up upon hearing this. However, he did state that it was to hard to convince the people of his community the truth of our eternal situation. I told him that we are only responsible to tell and the rest is a decision for them to make. He and his wife (as well as all the locals) work very hard harvesting beans and potatoes in order to sell them for about .30 U.S. cents per kilo. They really do have a very sad situation, but the truth still remains... our reward is not an earthly one. Many of the people are gone during this time of the year harvesting their crops and plowing the ground for the next season making it difficult for us to find people to meet with.

Me and some of the kids we taught in a village

Juan's wife sifting through her beans

(Juan wasn't there that day)

I arrived back in Lima last night after having a mid-summer debriefing with other summer missionaries that are in Peru during this time. I am not sure how long I will be staying in Lima this time. I have been washing clothes and relaxing today. Brad left today to go back to Lampa. I could not join him because Beth is going back to Atlanta this week and we didn't have a third partner to stay with us.

Please pray for Brad as he continues to disciple Carlos, Italo, Alex, and Juan this month.

Thanks ya'll!!

More pictures of Lampa if you click the "ALL MY PICTURES" link and look for the album titled "Lampa"

¿where am i?

2007-06-04T08:25:00.001-07:00

okay, i am terribly sorry about the lack of updates... my life has been crazy and the internet has been slow... i mean SLOW!! i woke up early this morning to try a beat the rest of the pueblo to the internet place so that i could possibly get some things accomplished. it looks like my plan worked as i've been able to put some pictures on facebook and write this blog entry. check out the pictures: http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080615&l=8b4dc&id=6518921

now, for what i've been up to...
i finally got the medical transfer so that i will be based in the capitol city of Lima, but almost as soon as i received the transfer my new boss asked me to go to the mountains for 8 weeks! i'm talking i barely had my things moved from the jungle and i was repacking and heading 12,000 ft. above sea level! now, before ya'll get all worried that i can't handle all these changes... i can! i'm in Lampa, Peru now and doing good. the mountains are drastically different from the jungle. for one thing the people here understand the concept of boiling water for sanitation...besides the fact that i can find bottled water everywhere i go. i am in a small, small town (pueblo) now, but it has everything i need. it is not like traveling to the communities where we have to bring everything we need.

so what exactly am i doing here? i am now on the REAP South team and the strategy of our team is to have churches in the U.S. adopt villages in the Southern half of Peru. during the summer college students come from the U.S. to assist the churches in their adopted villages. i am serving on one of these "summer missionary" teams. myself, brad (another journeyman) , and a girl named beth (from georgia and the church that has adopted Lampa) will be here at least until the end of June.(beth leaves at the end of june) i may or may not stay through the end of July.

our objective is to start small Bible study groups here in Lampa (the pueblo i'm staying in) and the surrounding small villages. the villages are straight out of some 1800s book or something. mud houses with thatch rooves and sheep, llamas, and alpacas running around in the fields. it is all so beautiful and primative.

please pray for us as the work here is slow. there are about 3 very promising Christian men here in Lampa but they all have busy schedules and it is hard to get them together in order to train them. also people are very willing for us to work with the children out in the villages, but it is very difficult to work with the adults. they are either in their fields and very busy or just not interested and keep asking us to work with and bring stuff to their children. it can be very frustrating at times. so please pray!

again, i will be based in Lima for the remainder of my time in Peru, but i will continue to travel to the mountains when there is a need. while i'm in Lima i will be working with our translator ministry discipling girls my age in both spanish and english.

thank you all for your prayers. don't forget to look at my pictures. again i'm sorry for the delay. email me with any questions and i will do my best to write you back!! laneyboggs7@yahoo.com.

i love ya'll!!!!

in need of patience

2007-05-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll,

this is going to be a short update because i do not have a whole lot of information for ya'll. i am still recovering in Lima. each day i am feeling better. for about 3 days now i have been able to eat mostly normal meals with little pain. it is very exciting to be able to eat again!!

other than that i have requested a job transfer due to medical issues. i am still waiting through this whole process. i have no idea where or when i will be transfered. this is very much a test of patience. as far as i know i will be in Lima until i have another job to move into.

please pray that i will have patience and wisdom.

thank you all so much! as soon as i know more i will let you all know!!

i love ya'll!

momentary light affliction

2007-04-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

"Therefore we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4: 16 - 18

* FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO GET MY PRAYER LETTERS THIS IS A REPEAT

I know that many of you have been curious as to my health. I have had quite a week or so, but I am now on the road to recovery. I will spare you all the "not so fun" details. However, for those of you who are in Med or Nursing School (Arthur and Amanda) or those who just like all the gorey details of my sicknesses (Lyle) I'll be happy to send ya'll another email full of details. :)

So, now for the general public:

Ever since I had parasites in late February/ early March (I can't even remember now) my stomach has not been acting "right". Two days before my next scheduled trip (April 5th) to the Asheninka communities I woke up and felt very bad. I was not sure if this was something in my head or something that I could just shake off. However, I decided to go to the doctor anyway. Doctors in Pucallpa are not much help, but I did get some blood tests done. They didn't reveal much, but I still was not feeling well.

I made a final decision on Wednesday April 4th not to go on the trip to the communities. This was a very difficult decision because I had already been "out-of-commission" since mid-February. I didn't want to let my team down, but I also did not want to be unwise about my health. So, I just prayed for wisdom.

Well the trip ended up being postponed one day due to rain. By Thursday morning, the original travel date, I was quite sick. Let's just say I was running to the bathroom very frequently. My team left for the communities Friday morning and I left for Lima Friday night -- still unsure if this was going to be a passing thing or something more serious.

I went to the doctor on Monday morning and it was pretty clear that I had him baffled. (He is a WONDERFUL doctor who speaks perfect English.) He ordered me to have tests run. On Thursday all of the test results were in and I was pretty dehydrated (from my FREQUENT trips to the lady's room--we are talking 10 -15 times a day for a week!). So, the decision was made Thursday for me to check into the clinic (like a hospital) to get on a drip and then I would have a colonoscopy done on Friday morning because my tests showed "unknown inflammation", but no parasites.

I was in pain most of my hospital stay and the colonoscopy results showed that I had an inflamed large intestine and ulcers. The doctor immediately started me on anti-inflamatories and a handful of other medicines. I am recovering at the Shearer's home in Lima. I am in much less pain now and I think I will be able to eat some pretty normal food within a few more days.

I have a follow-up appointment on April 25th. I will then learn the results of the biopsies and if I have a more serious Inflammatory Bowel Disease or if it was just a flare-up. I will be in Lima until at least the 25th, maybe longer.

I would like for ya'll to pray for any future decisions I will have to make about my health. Right now I'm just focusing on getting better, but sometime soon I'm sure I will have to make a decision about continuing to live in the jungle or possibly switching jobs because of my health and risks, etc. Please don't take this as me saying I'm going to switch jobs or move. I simply need your prayers for making the wisest decision.

Now for all of you "super-worriers" out there. I AM FINE! People in Peru have the same kinds of sickness and diseases that we Americans have and the medical professionals are able to take care of them. I am being very well taken care of and in fact my doctor studied at an Ivy Legue school in the U.S. I have better medical care than we do in Mississippi. So, DON'T WORRY!!!

I appreciate you all so much. I know that God is in control of my life and I fully trust Him with it. Being overseas does not change the fact that He is in control of my life and being diagnosed with a somewhat stubborn disease does not change that fact either. He is good (say it with me)...ALL THE TIME!

Now that you have your Sunday Morning Sermon feel free to skip church today! Just kidding!

Remember what is unseen is eternal...and ya'll's prayers are working for eternity.
-Remember to lift up my team as they continue to work in the jungle for the next two weeks.
-Please pray that I will have opprotunities to share truth with people as I am here in Lima.
-Pray that I will not get frustrated with my circumstances, but will be able to rejoice.

I love ya'll so much!!

Lane

Sick Again...

2007-04-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

well friends,

i'm back in Lima. i'm not sure if i have parasites again or something different. i went to the doctor yesterday and had lots of tests done. i'm sure i will hear from the doctor tomorrow as to what it is that is completely tearing up my stomach. he gave me some medicines that are really helping to calm my stomach, but i'm still running to the potty way too much! he threatened to put me in the hospital on a drip, but thankfully i was able to keep more food and liquid in me today for longer amounts of time.

i'm not sure what God is wanting to teach me through all of this. i haven't been with my people group since the beginning of February. but through it all i will continue to praise Him. He deserves all the glory.

pray that i will continue to seek His face. that i will have wisdom when it comes to deciding things about my health.

i will keep ya'll updated as best as i can.

i love ya'll!

esperate hasta.......SIEMPRE!!!

2007-03-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

WAIT!...just one more thing!

so, i'm with Hilda today waiting once again to get some small task accomplished in town. the task itself is never all that hard, but you always have to wait hours upon hours before the simple task can be realized. for example,in order to get my moto licencia (i can't spell that in english any more) i had to have a "medical exam". so, i was at some random "medical clinic" for like 3 hours today and when i finally get to go in for the exam the "doctor" practically tells me the answers! i mean, i couldn't see this #2 on a color blind chart (evidently b/c i'm color blind) and he freakin' tells me the answer!-- WHAT! no wonder the Peruvian roads are so wild. anyways, in the midst of all this waiting, i blurt out "la vida peruana es una vida de esperando"....basically--"the peruvian life is one of waiting". and as i'm saying it i realize, not just life in Peru, but life in general. i think waiting is highlighted in places like this where life moves slower and businesses aren't as efficent, but it's the same everywhere. especially the Christian life is one of waiting. i don't know about you, but i can't wait to see my Savior face-to-face...this moto licencia (and legal access to Peruvian roads) may just be my fast track to Heaven--JUST KIDDING YA'LL!

so, after being in town from 8:30 - 12:30 we get back to the house and start working on getting our second phone line--which we "got" last week. so Hilda calls them and after about 30 minutes of discussion she gets off the phone and looks a me and says, " esperamos"--we WAIT!!

but all this waiting really is teaching me something... while i was waiting with Hilda she began to pour her heart out to me. i'm talking she is crying in the lobby of the doctor's office. that my friends is why i went to town to "wait" today. it's never about the actual thing, but it is about the relationships. that's what God wants us to realize too. the more we have to wait, the more we put our trust in Him, the more we fall in love with the Father, and that my friends is what this Christian life is about--Loving God and Loving Others. Just you wait, i'll grasp it all one day!

love ya'll!!!

p.s. no the photo doesn't really have that much to do with actual blog. but i was waiting in this picture... and it does have the said "moto" in it. and i actually had on that same outfit today-- 7 months later. ha!

A Day at the Lake

2007-03-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

hey friends

i've had such an amazing day today!

i'll just share the highlights. since my camera broke i've been unable to give ya'll any photos...so today i had some friends take pictures so that i could share with you.

i promise i was not posing for this photo...it was a candid!

this evening while the sun was setting we were able to watch hundreds of white herons fly across the sky and land in the tops of these trees across the lake. the sun was setting on our side of the lake and the last rays of the day were shining over right onto those trees. it was one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen. and the birds just kept coming and coming in their V formation across the blue sky. BEAUTIFUL! words could never describe it...i just wanted to share a little with all of you!

the sweet little girl i was with today said to her mother:

"mommy, they look like flowers in the sky"--refering to the birds!

i love ya'll!

Mosquitero

2007-03-21T12:09:00.001-07:00

yay!! my new mosquito net. i love my room!

so, i have returned to Pucallpa. for those of you who don't know, i'll let you know that i still have parasites. they are slowly dying however...and i should be bug free very soon. i will know more on Monday. but for now it looks like i will be traveling on April 5th with the rest of my team.

since returning to my jungle home i decided to invest in a dream of mine. since i was a child i always wanted something covering my bed like a curtain or netting. well, what better time in your life to buy a mosquito net to cover your bed than when your home is a mosquito infested jungle? there is no better time! so now i have a lovely pink "mosquitero" hanging over my bed. i slept under it last night and i loved every minute of it!

and just a little update on Sunny, my lab puppy. i have decided to give her away. i found a nice lady who can afford to take care of her. i don't think it was fair to Sunny for me to be away from her as much as i was. my trips will not get any less frequent so i think it is better for her overall well-being that she has a more consistent owner.

so it looks like i traded one childhood dream for another-- a puppy for a mosquito net. not sure that's an even swap, but that, my friends, is life. and i'm learning daily that life is not always what your childhood dreams consisted of.

okay, i love ya'll!!!

Wait and Rest

2007-03-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

Wait for the LORD; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
Psalm 61:5

It is very comforting to know that the God of the universe has my life in His hands. I trust Him completely that He knew I would be sitting in Lima, Peru at 12:25 a.m. on Monday March 12th unable to sleep. He knows my every thought and worry and He gently says, "Lane, sweet child, give that to me; it is not for you to carry". I do not wish to carry the burdens I have on my heart any longer. As much as I know that "being effective in ministry" is not the goal of my life it is very difficult for a driven person like myself to take so much "sick time". I have long desired to save the world, but it seems that each time I get to the next "big thing" in my life the infamous WAIT sign in put up. Right now I feel like I am wearing the sign on my forehead.

I have been in Lima for over 2 weeks now and as much as I know that this is what my mind, body, and emotions have been in need of...I still very often feel that I am failing someone. I'm not quite sure who I think that I am failing. And when I start trying to figure it out I realize that the most important One already loves me. In fact before opening my Bible this morning I said to myself, "Lane, you are not doing this to earn God's approval, you cannot earn that. He already loves you". I know that what God truly wants is intimacy with me. He wants to talk with me, converse with me, hear my thoughts, my fears, my joys, and then He says, "go ahead give that to me". Why? Now, that I do not understand. He has chosen me. Chosen. How amazingly, wonderful!! Chosen me and now He wants to fellowship with me, spend intimate time with me. I think I understand this better than I ever have in my life. Maybe that is what all this waiting is about...learning about love--how to accept it, how to give it. I praise God that He is giving me a small glimpse here on earth of the infinite love with which He loves me.

I talked to my Aunt tonight and I started trying to say "I don't know what I'm going to do when....." and she gently interrupted me and said, "Lane, just rest". All I could say was "yes ma'am". She is right. God has given me this time. No, I may never understand why, but I can take advantage of every moment to learn more about His love and in turn thank Him for that love.

God, I praise you because you first loved me. You chose me before the foundation of the Earth. You have sent me to Peru. You knew exactly where I would be tonight and You know why you have had me in Lima for so long. I pray that I will learn that this is not about what I'm DOING, but about a RELATIONSHIP with my Creator. My goal is not to please others, but to sit at your feet and to find my joy in that. I pray that my life will bring glory to your name. Until you move me I will rest and wait.

Wait for the LORD; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
Psalm 61:5

As Promised

2007-02-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

alright friends. i am terribly sorry that this has taken so long. first i was sick and didn't want to write and now i'm just lazy! but here we go....

on January 29th i left Pucallpa on a plane for the "port town" of Atalaya. Autumn and I stayed in Atalaya over night and left the morning of the 30th for the community of Pensilvania. we weren't able to take our team boat because something has happened to it. no one can really be sure...we live in Peru.

Quilmer is our Peruvian partner that works with us on the Rivers (i think i have mentioned this before...but i'm not good at names so i like to review:) so, he and his dad and sister went with us on the boat. quilmer and his dad went to another community while autumn, myself and flor (quilmer's sister) went to Pensilvania.

the highlight of our trip was visiting in the homes of Asheninka people. typically, (as in, the way it has always been done) we have had a time at 3:00 each afternoon when the people are invited to come listen to us teach about the Bible. well, Autumn and I decided to do things a little differently and take church to the people. we still had teaching times at 3, but we also visited in the homes of sick people and hiked trails to get to their houses (huts i should say).

the second day we were there we helped Tomas and his wife cultivate (cut grass with machetes) their yard. other members of their family came also. then we ate lunch with them (or brunch i guess). we had some jungle bird (and we wonder why i have parasites right now:)

then, that same day we went and visited in the home of a sick lady. it was about a 15 minute walk. we visited her a total of about 4 times. i shared the gospel with her twice (her and her husband once). sadly, they decided to just "think about it".

another day we went about a 40 minute hike(through creeks and over logs and lots and lots of mud) to another family, including grandparents, brothers, wives...9 adults total. and i shared a creation to Christ story. the grandfather said, "no" therefore no else even considered accepting.

we repeated this in another home close to the center of the community. the teenage son in that family is already a believer, but his family is very cold. they did not accept the truth this time either.

finally, we shared with a lady and her daughter in a home close-by. i shared about God's love and what Jesus did for them on the cross. both of them accepted the truth with smiling faces. it was such a joy to lead Asheninka to Christ.

each time we went to these places Tomas (the church leader) went with us. he clarified things in the Asheninka language. i also used those opprotunites of walking to share with him that this is what the church does. i told him about the functions of the church...that its not just about Sunday's, etc. i made him share the gospel with the people we visited so it wasn't just the white missionaries doing it.

on our final day i shared the message about Jesus feeding the 5000 and how the next day they came looking for Jesus because their stomachs were filled. i encouraged them to seek Jesus for the right reasons. i encouraged them to go to their neighbors.

overall i feel the trip was very eye-opening. i learned a ton. it was hard. i felt homesick alot, but God was sufficent. i fed on His word like never before. i devoured huge chunks of the Bible. God taught me so much. i'm still processing it all really. and then i immediately got sick. He has His reasons for everything that He does. most importantly, i TRUST Him!! He is my Father and He desires to give me good gifts. and if it hurts...that's okay too...my reward is waiting for me!!

i'm still in Lima for at least another 2 weeks. God is good and i'm recovering physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

i love ya'll

ever thanked God for your toilet seat?

2007-02-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

hey friends,

some of you may be surprised to see a blog from me since i am suppose to be in the jungle right now...but you know, plans change which always keeps life interesting.

so, with that said i find myself awake at 4:30 a.m. back in Pucallpa. i guess you are now waiting for an explanation for the change of plans and the fact that i'm awake before the roosters. well, long story short, i'm sick. i won't go into details here because i don't believe that the general public will appreciate the details.

however, i do want to tell ya'll a little story. one involving kind peruvians, a float plane landing on the river, and, of course, toilet seats--no, let me rephrase; the absense of toilet seats.

on monday february 12th Autumn (my partner) and i left the community of Pensilvania to head back to Atalaya (a jungle "town"). this was a planned trip. we were to rest there for like 2 and half days before going to the next community of Jose Olaya.

well things were going along as planned until about Wednesday the 14th--that would be Valentine's Day. so Wednesday late morning i called Dena, my SC's wife, to inform her of some health issues that i thought might need to be considered before going to the communities again. i asked her to get in touch with my doctor in Lima. she did and i called her back that evening to get info from the Doctor. well, i was instructed to buy a certain kind of medicine and keep them updated on how it was treating my symptoms. the plan was still for me to leave the following day at noon for the next community (aka village, aka middle-of-NOWHERE!).

so, i took the medicine as instructed and woke up kind of late Thursday morning (about 9). i didn't have the greatest feeling about the trip, so i called Dena back. told her i felt a little weak, but i would tough it out. she said, "no, you call this doctor." soooo, i called my doctor in Lima. we conversed IN SPANISH. not that big of a deal i guess, but none-the-less difficult. she told me not to go on my trip and to go get the same medicine in an "ampolla". i had yet to come across that word while sharing the gospel in remote villages; however, the day before the pharmacist tried to sale me the medicine in the form of "ampolla" so i knew she had it. so i went straight back to the pharmacy (well, we will call it a pharmacy to make all of you worriers feel better) and i bought the "ampolla". haha, i soon learned, after being led to a back room with one of those lay-flat doctor chairs, what an "ampolla" is. a SHOT. yes, my friends a shot, in the jungle, in something i will refer to as a pharmacy. i completely trusted the lady because this town is so small that i had already conversed with her about 4 times and that day learned that she was a believer. so i was injected. i left there and went to tell Autumn what all was going down. well, i had to walk about a block and a half. i found her and i told her the story. she, however, didn't realize that i had already gotten the shot, but thought that i was going to have to get a shot. so i left to go back to our hostal to call Dena and lie down. now here is where things get interesting...

i was walking with Quilmer (our Peruvian partner) and i told him that i had not been able to get Dena. he informed me that he had the cell phone numbers in his calendar. perfect. so the plan was for me to try the house one more time while Quilmer went to get the cell numbers (up in his room in the same hostal).

so i picked up the phone and realized that i needed to lean on the counter a little because i was feeling weak. then, i heard Dena's voice on the other end. and this is how our conversation went:

i heard myself say: "Dena!".
she said: "yes, Lane."
i said: "we can't go and the doctor told me to get a shot."
she repeat: "a shot"
then i heard myself say: "Dena, i feel really weak."
Dena said: "sit down, where is Autumn"
then as if from dream world i heard my voice say, "mama, i want my mama."

the next thing i know i'm laying on the lobby couch with several Peruvians around me spraying water, rubbing alcohol and amonium. i was extremely confused and Quilmer was sitting beside me. i said--IN ENGLISH--"what happened"...to which he looked puzzled. then i said, "que paso". to which he tried to explain, but i couldn't put anything together.

i proceeded to cry and try and figure out what happened. it was all very overwhelming. but i finally got the entire story.

i fainted, Quilmer caught me, the kind Peruvians awakened me, but sadly I never talked to my Mama!

well, needless to say Autumn and i did not finish the second half of our trip. a plane was sent for us on friday...but because the regular plane was unavailable we were sent for in the float plane. you know the kind that lands in water!

so what's all this about a toilet seat? well, in my 2nd home there of Atalaya the toilets had no seats...only the rims. now coming from a squatty potty i have found myself numerous times thanking God for my seatless potty. however, when your body goes through what mine did the result seems to be long periods of time spent on the toilet. therefore, as i was sitting there, dizzily (with my head resting on the sink cushioned by a toiletpaper roll), for those long periods of times i was thanking God for all the toilets in the U.S. and in Pucallpa that had nice soft seats. then i thanked him for the toilet in Atalaya that was not a squatty potty. and then i prayed for all the Asheninka who get sick with no float planes to rescue them and no soft potties to comfort them.

i am back in Pucallpa now. still spending lots of time in the bathroom, but this time with a much more comfortable seat. i will go to Lima either Monday or Tuesday to visit my doctor and get everything straightened out.

before you click off of here...please thank God for your comforts. however meanial you think they are...you have been given much. i too have been given much. and to those who are given much, much is required. will i ever learn this truth?

i love you all,

lane

A Sittin' Spot

2007-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

I like to think I’m pretty much the same girl I was at age 13 and things like this morning tend to prove that to me. As I escaped the heat of the house at about 11:00 this morning my screen door slammed shut behind me only to be reopened by my ever-growing lab puppy, Sunshine. How wonderful I thought. How many times in my childhood did I pray for a dog that would follow me around with love and devotion? So with these thoughts in mind I started down the gravel neighborhood road on my “prayer walk”. Now for all you prayer walkers out there let me redefine the word. My prayer walk this morning was more of the “selfish” variety. Because of my ADD/OCD personality I often find it hard to pray while sitting still. I will either fall asleep (which doesn’t fit into ADD or OCD but more like lazy) or think about one million other things to do in that moment. I also can’t sit in a room and pray if things are untidy because I will have to get up and fix them. So the point is, I left the house to walk and pray and my beautiful lab puppy followed me all the way.

Now you are asking, “what does this have to do with your childhood?” Well as I was walking I found a spot to stop and sit. Now I didn’t find it as in “discovered” it because I’ve seen it before and even sat there before. I think I may be the only person in the world that would find this little spot exciting, but as I sat on the broken gray concrete under the Mango tree I was taken back to my adolescent years. In my neighborhood in Brookhaven there was an old rusty metal box (the kind that covers wiring for the neighborhood) with a lock on it and it sat under a Gumball tree. Now why those spiny things are called gumballs I have never quite figured out. I asked my Daddy once and I suppose that his hour-long lecture was too much for me to remember. He tends to answer the simplest questions with nice, long drawn-out stories. (At least ya’ll know where I get the long-windedness from)

So back to the Mango tree and cinder block… it took me back home. I realized that I have been searching out shady spots and walking to think for many years. My adolescent years where filled with lots of thinking and confusing thoughts and now that my memory has been jogged I remember that I battled out lots of questions under that Gumball tree. I was that neighborhood girl that sat alone and looked lost in her own little world. I suppose really I was always imagining this world—the one I am currently living in. I know that I spent many of those hours praying for a dog that would be loyal to me…or that my Daddy would allow me to own ANY dog. I did have to leave his house and that lazy neighborhood in order to see all those summer daydreams realized. And as I sat there under the Mango tree I came to understand a couple things: 1) Mangos can be much more dangerous than gumballs when falling from the tree even though they don’t have spines. 2) I will always be that girl that has to battle out her thoughts, dreams and realities. That is just who I am. I’m a thinker. I want to save the world and yet I struggle daily with laziness and business (how’s that for a contradiction). 3) I think I’m as much of an absentee parent as ever there was… poor Sunny has only seen me for 6 days and I’m leaving her again on Monday. I don’t deserve the love and devotion that she is so ready to give, but you know what friends we don’t deserve Grace and Mercy either. I have done nothing to earn the love that is daily given to me by my Heavenly Father and yet he gives it—new every morning. And the harder I try to earn that I love the less I am able to enjoy it.

So, today, if only for an hour before the mosquitoes drove me back indoors I was able to thank God for my past, present, and the future that I know He has waiting for me, without feeling like I needed to “straighten-up” something in my life to come before Him.

I love God so much! I need Him so desperately. I cannot do this work, live this life, or make decisions without Him! Praise Him for the fact that He has reached down from Heaven and made a way for us to know Him. We are welcomed into His throne room only by the saving blood of Jesus Christ. Have you reflected on that today? Thanks to a shady “sittin’ spot” I was able to do just that.

I love ya’ll!!

llegamos con la lluvia

2007-01-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

It has been too long since I have updated my blog. I kinda have an excuse but not really. My team and I have been in Lima for about 10 days. We had a mission meeting where I was able to hang out with lots of other missionaries from Peru and Ecuador. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met some amazing people that really helped renew my purpose for being here.

In these past two weeks I have also had the privilege of influencing several teenage lives which in turn reminded me of my teenage years and my calling (which occurred during my teenage years). The first group of teenagers that I was able to hang out with was some MKs (missionary kids) there in Lima. Their energy was contagious and just reminded me of myself at that age. In so many ways I feel like I am still that teenage girl. I still feel small a lot of times and that the world is a scary place…but then I am reminded of who I am in Christ and I am ready to take on that big world again. I hope that I was able to remind those girls of who they are in Christ.

The other group of teenage lives I was able to be a part of was the 9th grade Sunday school class from Broadmore Baptist Church in Madison, MS. I was asked by their teacher to call their Sunday School class and talk about my call to missions, etc. They are studying Acts and Paul and his persecutions during his missionary journeys. While I in no way would put myself on a level with the Apostle Paul, studying the scriptures with this class helped the passage come alive to me. Even from thousands of miles away I was able to put myself in their shoes (I could see myself sitting in my high school Sunday School class) and talk from my heart. Things I wish I had heard at that age and things that I want people to know about me. And that is this: it is all worth it! Everything I go through here in Peru is worth it…because the gospel is THE most important thing EVER! How small and insignificant my “persecutions” seem in the face of God’s glory. Daily I fight with what my flesh wants to do like sleep late, waste time, complain, etc and then I am reminded of what it is I have come here to do!! I did not come here to sit, but to share the Truth! And if I don’t tell these people, who will? Oh Lord, I pray that I will be faithful to the call that You have put on my life. Being a part of that Sunday School lesson really reminded me of all these things. To all of Sunday’s 9th graders…thank you for letting me talk with you! I will pray for your group that God will raise up many missionaries from that group. Know that He desires to use each one of us in making His name known among the nations. Do what you can to be a part of that now!!

In other news… I will head back to the Asheninka communities on January 29th. I will be gone until February 26th. I covet your prayers during this trip. I know that Satan is going to try and attack our efforts, but we know who has already WON!! Every day in the communities is a challenge…from finding a place to use the bathroom to cooking lunch---everything is harder there. It is hot and there are always bugs—lots of biting bugs…and honestly sometimes I just want to sit down and not get up again, but as stated above: I did not come here to sit!!!

Please pray that I will be faithful in the work. Pray that the teaching times will be productive. Pray that I will use every minute to tell about God’s truth. Pray that I will invest in peoples’ lives for eternity. Pray for the Asheninka people that they will understand and grasp the truth of God’s word. Pray that the Holy Spirit will move among them to teach them!!!! And most of all that I will just get out of the way and become an empty vessel that is used by God! I can't do this without ya'll's prayers!

Bout Time

2006-12-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

This blog entry is way overdue and yet I’m still not sure what I have to say. I have to walk a thin line between being informative and entertaining…in order to keep all parties interested. What am I talking about? I don’t even know who the “parties” are. So if you are reading my blog be advised that whatever I am about to write is being written in order to keep you coming back.

First order of business I suppose is the fact that my camera is broken. Yes, I know it is a very sad day. However, my mama and I are working on the warranty right now and trying to figure out how to get a replacement. So just be advised that for several months I may not have any pictures on my blog—sorry folks. The jungle is kinda hard on our “modern technology”.

Secondly, Sunshine is learning commands! She is a very smart dog—don’t we all say that about our dogs though. She sits very well; she is learning stay and come. However she fails to remember these commands at the most important times and so it goes.

I guess ya’ll are curious about how my first Christmas away from home went. Well, I made it through. No major tears and one John Grisham book richer!! Our team was actually able to celebrate this event with an Asheninka family from the community of Alto San Luis. Their oldest daughter had been studying here in Pucallpa for the past year. It was very interesting to house this family of 7 here in our home. For me it really made me question over and over what it is I came to Peru to do. It is easy to get the mentally that my people group live in the communities and I go there and see them. I should endure hard times while I’m there and then I can come back and rest. However, when the people group comes with you, you can’t just stop ministering. All this is to say, I was challenged to act like Jesus every day and really seek his guidance throughout the Christmas season a time when giving is of highest importance.
Somewhere on this list of things that ya’ll need to know is: I got lice. Yep discovered the little boogers on Christmas Day. Well Merry Christmas to you too I thought. My second thought was, “no stores are open on Christmas Day.” My third thought was, “I wonder if Hilda has something I could use.” (now for those of you who don’t remember Hilda, she was my tutor for 1 month and now she is basically my Peruvian mom. We see each other on a daily basis and she can pretty much get anything done.) So I told Hilda about my “visitantes”(visitors) over a piece of pound cake (which I made!!) to which she responded by getting up, walking into her bathroom and bringing me a bottle of cream. She told me she always had it on hand for her granddaughter who often came home from school with lice.

Also of some interest was HOW the bugs were discovered. Well as I was sitting in the McAnally’s house on Christmas morning waiting patiently for the hour when I could open my presents I laid my head over on the arm of a chair. Berta (an Asheninka girl that is also visiting us) started picking through my hair. This is a very normal thing in the communities. Children sit for long periods of time combing through each other’s hair looking for “piojos” (lice). Well, just before we were given the go ahead for opening presents Berta whispered to me, “tu tienes piojos” (you have lice)! Well, first thing I did was look up the word “piojo” in my dictionary, second thing was to shower, third I made the children look at my hair again to confirm the lice finding. Sure enough I had “bastante”(a lot). However, you all will be pleased to know that I used the cream Hilda gave me, bought some more along with lice shampoo the next day and currently there are no signs of lice in my scalp.

Now for those of you who are not totally grossed out and are still reading I suppose I will tell you about my trips to the pool.
Yes over the past week I have gone to the pool 3 or 4 times. I am looking more Peruvian every day (minus the blonde hair that keeps getting more and more bleached out with the sun) and this makes me very happy. Plus I just thoroughly enjoy the fact that I can go to the pool the week of Christmas. Doesn’t every kid dream of that? Well right after they dream of a White Christmas then they dream of being able to swim during their Christmas vacation.

Let’s see… in other news…..
Hilda and I are still working through the Bible study. She pleasantly surprised me two nights ago when we were doing our study because she had already filled in the blanks. She told me that she couldn’t sleep one night so she did the study! I was so excited and just started laughing and clapping…haha! I gave her a new Bible for Christmas…it should be easier to understand than the one she had. I also gave a Bible to Limni—the girl who cleans our house. She has recently accepted Christ and she did not have a Bible. I asked her yesterday if she has been reading and she said yes that she started at the beginning. I told her that was good, but to go ahead and start reading in John as well and if she ever had questions about anything to let me know.

Last thought---
As I was riding down the road this morning in a motortaxi this thought crossed my mind. As a child, how many times did I dream of riding on the back of a fast moving open vehicle like this (in those days I was thinking in terms of go carts—remember those). And here I am 24 years old riding on motorcycles, swimming at Christmas time, waking up each morning to the “whoop” of a monkey and sharing my love for Jesus Christ! How good is God?!! REAL GOOD I tell you! He’s all there is and if we follow him he will fill us with the desires of our heart.
Pray that I will seek Him every day and take advantage of ever opportunity given. I have the freedom to share with anyone why I am here and what I am doing. I have co-workers in other parts of the world who do not have this privilege. I pray that I will take full advantage of the freedom I have to speak into the hearts of Peruvians the love of Jesus Christ. God became man, was born of humble birth, was murdered on a cross, was raised to life three days later, and all for US!! Now stop and really think about that for a minute! No, you can’t grasp it, but you can accept it…all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed.

I love ya’ll!!!

And the List Grows

2006-12-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

Things I can now do with a machete:

1. Cut firewood
2. Dig a hole
3. De-tar(not sure that is a word) a boat
4. Cultivate the yard (Cut grass!!)
5. Oh, and pose like a kung-fu fighter!!

There are examples of all these in my pictures from this trip and previous ones.

Okay, so I’ve been promising stories for a while now. It’s just so hard to get them started. I think ya’ll will enjoy some explanation of our Asheninka field day.
While in Puerto Burmudez for our Asheninka leadership training we had a field day, so to speak. It would have been a field day had it not rained the entire mourning, but with the rain came mud; therefore, the day turned into “mud day” for quite a few of us. Had we been in the states the slow rain probably would not have stopped us from getting out in the weather and getting completely drenched, but I AM NOT in the States. And when the weather gets down to oh 75 degrees Asheninka people freeze! And wet and 75 degrees and you’ve got people shriveling up on you. So instead of making them get in the rain we played most all activities under a thatched roof, but before we even get to the thatched roof we had to walk to the place. So how do you walk about a mile with 30 people without getting wet? Well, you buy a huge piece of plastic and walk under it, of course!!! So, that is what we did. When we arrived at the site we went under the thatched roof and began our series of relay races with a sack race. Please try to imagine Native Indians putting themselves into a Rice sack and jumping…trust me…it is hilarious! All of the relay games kept me laughing because they have never seen anyone do the things we were asking them to do. Now, the bow and arrows were a whole different story…they were the ones laughing when I attempted to shoot that thing. Now don’t get me wrong, my Daddy taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow and I never skipped out on archery class at camp, but those kind in the hunting magazines come with automatic release and all kinds of other conveniences. This bow was made of metal and string. The arrows were cane, feathers, and a metal arrow head—and there were no notches in the end of the arrow to hold it onto the bowstring! Hey, I’m just impressed I was able to get one to release…it went a good little distance after I finally stopped trying to hold the string while releasing the bow.
Other fun or should I say funny events were tree climbing and tug-of-war, both of which we had to go into the drizzle in order to participate. Tug-of-war was after lunch…not sure how good of an idea that was…but the ground was fully saturated by this point and there was plenty of mud. Just use your imagination on that one. Thankfully there was a river close by and Dena and I were able to rinse ourselves off!
After a fun-filled day of “deportes” we had a baptism at the same river. Two of our training participants had never been baptized and desired to be. It was a great ending to a great week.

Please see the links on my previous blog entry BELOW in order to view pictures from this day of recreation!

Picture Links

2006-12-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

for now just look at my pictures and i'll have some stories for ya'll later this week...

THIS IS THE LINK TO MY PICTURES FROM DECEMBER: (my most recent trip)
http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055906&l=c614d&id=6518921

THESE ARE NEW PICTURES FROM MY NOVEMBER TRIP:
http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055903&l=c5805&id=6518921

THESE ARE PICTURES FROM NOVEMBER ALSO: (that some of you have already seen)
http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052486&l=cc410&id=6518921

a few more pics before i go

2006-12-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

This is the place where we buy our Christmas decorations. Actually this is one of the many stores where you can buy decorations. There is a sidewalk like place with stores like this on each side...not exactly Hallmark--but you get ornaments nonetheless!!!!
this is an orange juice stand in the same place where we get the Christmas stuff. notice the girl peeling the orange with some contraption and the man (to the left u can see his hand) squeezing the oranges...and about 2 minutes later i was drinking the juice!!! mmmm! i love Peru!!! fresh squeezed orange juice while you buy christmas ornaments. we might not have snow, but there are plenty of things that make up for the lack of cold weather!

Rocking Chairs, Yellow Curtains and Various Otras Cosas

2006-12-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

so here is the picture of my new rocking chairs--as promised

and here are my new yellow curtains that i LOVE! notice my little christmas tree also!

i don't think i have shown ya'll a picture of the market yet. this is where we can get all the fresh vegatables we could possibly need for like $5---there is a meat section too!

and this is sunshine under the Christmas tree..i've always wanted a puppy under the tree!

Safe with Me

2006-12-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

okay, sorry it has been so long friends. but i have two wonderful pictures of God's love that i would like to show you! now, you can't see these pictures with your physical eyes...only with your mind's eye.

both of the "pictures" that i'm going to show you i "saw" in a motortaxi. now for those of you who are new to my blog a motortaxi is the "vehicle" that i go to town in. imagine a motorcycle with a cab attached (large enough to fit 3 comfortably, but known to carry at least 6 plus various cargo!). anyways..if u can't picture it just go to my archives and their is a video and some pictures of motos.

NUMBER 1:

i was on my way to town with Rita on Monday and she had her little grand-daughter with her. Now, first, you need to understand that the traffic here in Pucallpa is WILD!! there are no "lanes" (not me; the driving lanes) so to speak. so their can be up to 4 or as few as 2 lanes at one time. and their are constantly crazy motorcycle drivers wizzing by you as well as big mack trucks lurching around you or in front of you. and everyone is trying to get ahead.
so we are in the midst of this craziness in our motortaxi and Ilene(the grand-daughter) was in Rita's lap. about 4 minutes into our ride Ilene was fast asleep in her grandmother's arms. this gave me a beautiful picture of how we should be with God.
although the world is CRAZY around us we are completely safe in God's arms. He is not going to let anything happen to us...and like sweet Rita, He will even shield our eyes from the dust flying all around!(and yes i do realize that he allows trials, but we can TRUST him is my point!) He loves us so much more than any earthly parent ever could--but do we TRUST HIM?!!!

the other story is like it:
i was in the motortaxi last night with my tutor/Peruvian Mama, Hilda and we went to buy some rocking chairs for the front porch. so we went to town found the chairs and had them tied onto the motortaxi. (i wish i had a real picture of that--but hauling stuff like that on motortaxis is nothing new here.) so anyways, we are on our way back home with the chairs tied to the back and just for precaution i stuck my hand through the back and was holding the chairs. halfway home i realized that my arm was really tired. then i thought...here i am holding these chairs on like their well-being rests soley on my shoulders--on my ability to hold them here. when in reality they were perfectly secured by the rope that had been tied around them.
this is what God said to me in that:
why are you trying to this in your strength? i have secured everything already... your well-being does not rest in your strength!! (PRAISE HIM FOR THAT!!) so, He said, "let go and rest!. and with that i also let go of those chairs...and do u know that they made it home safely without my help!

below you will see pictures of our rocking chairs--just so u won't be thinking those beautiful white chairs you find on the porches of victorian homes or even john walter homes for that matter!

well there was suppose to be a photo here...but i can't get it to load right now..so yeah..i'll try again later!

i love the chairs though..they are awesome!!

we leave again on December 4th to go to Puerto Burmudez. we will drive on the Carretera (remember that wild road?). and we will stay in Burmudez for 5 days training the Asheninka leaders and encouraging them to go out among their own people and share the gospel! then on December 11th we will go to Amambai (an Asheninka community) where we will have a Christmas meal and give gifts. we will also teach here.

please pray for the Asheninka people that they will realize their task and be missionaries to their own people.
i will be sharing two devotionals during our time at training. i will also have other various responsibilities.
please continue to pray for my Spanish communicating and that i will be able to rest well and teach well!
I pray for all of you as well that you have a wonderful Christmas season!

other than that i have been meeting with my tutor and preparing for this next trip. every day has been really busy and full of activities. i'm still really enjoying my time in peru. each day God teaches me something new. my house is becoming home--i have new curtains(yellow of course) and my room looks just like it would in the states..and with my hammack and rocking chairs on the front porch--i'm pretty much set!!

i love each of you so much!!!

Arbol de Navidad!

2006-11-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

this is our tree with lights! and some of our other christmas decorations. notice the presents under the tree! they all came in the mail today! how exciting...now i only have to wait 1 month before i can open them!

i LOVE christmas time..i've been listening to christmas music since thanksgiving afternoon. surprisingly it still "feels" like Christmas even though i'm sweating as i sit in front of the tree.

Happy Thanksgiving...a day late!

2006-11-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

I just want everyone to know I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am going to put several pictures of us decorating the McAnally's tree and our tree and also some of our food. I hope ya'll enjoy them...i haven't had a chance to put any stories from my last trip on here...but ya'll go look at my pictures...they tell alot of stories without words(the link is below on my last entry)!

Marty cutting the turkey which was bought in Lima in July and has been sitting in our freezer ever since.

My green bean casserole...it looks like my mama's but didn't taste like it!

Me beside the McAnally's tree

Autumn and I putting the angel on top

Me beside our tree today

Ya'll leave me comments and let me know what u think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm home and Pictures

2006-11-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

hey ya'll,

i'm back in Pucallpa. I got back on Saturday the 18th and i've been resting and recouping since then. I want to show ya'll all my pictures and i figured the easiest way to do that is to give you a link. so for those who are interested enough to look go to: http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052486&l=cc410&id=6518921

i have lots of fun stories to share, but i'm not sure that i have the energy to type them all out right now. so for some highlights.

on the road there: the road was washed out and we had to wait for 6 hours while random Peruvians cut down trees and put logs in the hole for a makeshift "bridge". we slept in some hole in the wall place that night and woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. to finish our drive Burmudez...from there we took our boat to the communities.

Three accpeted Christ in the community of Campinas. God gave me a rainbow on the day that I taught Noah's ark. It rained every day the first 5 days. Mud was everywhere. the boat got suspended between a tree and the bank...then it partly sank....oh yeah..good times! Abuela --the grandmother in Campina--I love her!

San Francisco, the second community, had running water...well not like indoor plumbing...just a faucet...which is way better than washing your dishes with river water, by the way. The cutest old man in the world and his little dog came to church each day(with his worn out and yellowed New Testament). The word for the entire trip was "Barro" (Mud) another key word would probably be "moscas"--the nastiest biting fly ever that leaves little drops of blood after biting!

the drive home: one stuck cattle truck (and a dehydrated cow), one stuck log truck (and an "alternate route" to get around it), and 2 roadside stand chicken sandwiches (don't ask where the chicken has been...just eat it!)

that is enough for now. enough to keep you coming back for more anyways...i hope.
and don't forget to look at the pictures!! http://olemiss.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052486&l=cc410&id=6518921 --CLICK ON IT! :)

i love ya'll!!!

Randomness

2006-11-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

hey everyone,

i just want to give ya'll a little update on my life. i've been very busy these past few days. my team got back on tuesday and i had a big meal prepared for them upon their return. i was so glad i could do something for them--i had missed them so much. the next day we all cooked for some friends of ours...and it was quite adventurous. all was well until we blew a breaker. then we flipped the switch and the stove/oven worked for a while longer. but eventually the whole thing just stopped working(we just had too much going--and dena's stove is electric). so, we take stuff over to my house to cook...but my stove has been acting up for several weeks now. it is gas and it just hasn't been burning strong enough. but no worries because we have an extra stove in our extra bedroom out back. so, we ended up finishing the cooking in our back bedroom! the picture is below.

this is Rita and Dena cooking away in the very hot back bedroom; we had sweet potatos and cake in the oven and 3 things going on the stove top.

besides that we have been getting ready for our next trip out. we leave the 6th to go to two new communities. our team has never been to either of these places...brand new ground! very exciting. there is lots to do to get ready. pray for us as Marty and Autumn have just returned and are leaving again (they will have only had 5 days rest between trips). we all have alot on our plates right now as we prepare for the next trip.

i have lots of stories that i would love to tell ya'll, but i'm just finding i don't have the time to do them justice. so hopefully you can enjoy my pictures and pray for me without all my wild stories. :)

this is sunshine with her new collar on her new bed (she gets a sleeping bag too!). notice they r all yellow so that she will live up to her name. i took her to the vet this week to get her shots and buy her collar, leash, bed, and toys.

A Video of Me--For You!

2006-10-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll("y'all"--that's for you Wes)!

i had the bright idea to put myself on a video and say hello. i think i sound really stupid and i had no idea i had so many weird facial expressions--but i figured ya'll would enjoy it none the less. i hope so anyways. the loud noise you hear in the background is the dryer--yeah, we have one of those! and u can probably hear my airplane of a fan too. you can see my living room in the background(more like the front door) and i'm sitting at my kitchen table. sorry i cut a little of my head off--i'm no expert! okay, i hope ya'll enjoy!

okay, yeah, i just rewatched it--i sound dumb! :) and when i watched it the voice and video were off--but it may just be my slow connection.

Grilled Cheese = "Que Rico"

2006-10-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll,

i just had to share this....
today for lunch i made Rita grilled cheese sandwiches (i know, she makes me three course meals and i make grill cheese--which makes this story even better). so we are eating them and i ask if she likes it. she says she does and then i ask, "is there a word for this kind of sandwich in Peru?" to which she replies, "que rico!" which means literally "how rich", but its more like "aww, man this is great!" so in other words she named grill cheeses "que rico". well, anyways, i thought it was hilarious---i laughed for like 5 minutes. i hope ya'll enjoyed it too!

and here is a picture of Sunshine today.

11 Practical lessons learned in Peru (because 10 wasn’t enough):

2006-10-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Lessons Learned:

1. Always put on your flip-flops before walking outside; you never know what is waiting to be stepped on—e.i. poop, palm thorns, any number of things really

2. Never wear white; it will get disgustingly dirty

3. Going to town with Rita is 1000 times easier than going alone; not EASY, just EASIER

4.Always take your keys to town even if your house is left open; u need them to check the P.O. box

5. If there is something in the store and u think, “I’ll get it next time.” Rethink that and get it in that MOMENT; because it may be many moons before that item is available again or before you go to that place again.

6. If u think u don’t need it, u probably do—for example: “I don’t need my keys, Rita’s in the house.” or “I don’t need my shoes I’m just stepping right outside.”, etc. (do u know that after I wrote this I walked onto the back patio barefoot and an ant BIT MY TOE.)—Ok, I just put my shoes on!

7. NEVER let your dog have EIGHT puppies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8. Always keep Pepto-Bismol handy; there is no explanation for why my stomach randomly goes nuts

9. Listen to your Mama and “be careful what you wish for.” For example, as a child I wanted a house full of animals; now I have 10 dogs, 1 monkey, and 1 cat---and all I want is SILENCE!

10. No matter how sloppy you dress or how bad of a hair day it is…you are still white and Peruvians WILL whistle at you!

11. If your pants have been hanging in the closet for a while shake them out because those leaf-cutter ants look WAY COOLER on the Discovery Channel than in your pants leg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--And possibly the most important lesson: When all of this becomes just a little too much, there is a hammock swinging on my front porch where God and I have some really good conversations!!!

-now, as an aside. i do not currently own a monkey. the McAnally's do--her name is Rosita. now it has always been my dream to own a monkey, but after being woke up EVERY morning this past week at 5:30 by the hidious monkey sound she makes---i'm not sure i want one anymore. i'm going to show ya'll a picture of her below. this is the kind of monkey i will get if i do decide to get one. but after this week...i think a puppy is enough to take on for now.
p.s. monkeys in the "new world" (meaning the americas) do NOT carry aids---i know some of u watched that Discovery Channel Show!!

the last few days....

2006-10-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

first, i give props to all you moms out there. especially you single moms...and extra points to the single moms with children AND pets!! yep...mama, now i can empathize with you a little more for taking care of Gus and all the other dogs--but please keep doing it :)!

okay, yesterday and today have been really fun for me. i've had a lot of time to hang out with Rita, the lady who helps us around the house. She is so awesome. She has been a Believer for 3 years now. 2 days ago she was telling me a story. she said that her neck and head were hurting sooo bad and she was listening to a radio show where people were calling in and asking for prayer. and she thought...i can pray, i can talk to God myself--i don't need to call a show. so she put her hands on the back of her head and prayed that God would take the terrible pain away. when she opened her eyes the pain had eased up and the next day there was no pain! i just love her faith. i told her so too. i told her that faith like that would win her family to Christ. and as a matter of fact one of her daughters recieved Christ just last week.

Rita and I have been cooking together, eating together and going to town. below is a picture of her teaching me how to make limon marange pie--mmm.

mama, u will be proud. i've been cooking alot. (or fixing things alot) i made chicken pasta Sunday, chicken salad Monday, No Bake Cookies today, and Sweet Tea yesterday---okay, like i said...i've been "fixing" things..not really cooking. but Jacob likes all the goodies.

the next picture is of a tarantula that was in our guest room. Rita found it the day after our guests left that room---ooops...sorry guys! we have to watch for them at the beginning of rainy season.

Speaking of rainy season..i think it has begun. the following is a very short video of the rain this afternoon. you can be the judge of whether or not the season has started. all i know is that the rain has brought some really refreshing breezes. i hope the video doesn't make you sea sick--i moved the camera kinda fast because --well i don't know why!

i love ya'll!!!

Chillin' in Pucallpa

2006-10-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, as promised...here is the update on whether I'm staying or going. Well, I'm here aren't I?! Enough of that--I am staying in Pucallpa with Jacob for the next two weeks. We've been here without the rest of the team for one full day. Dena seemed to be almost completely recovered from whatever she had and the team left at 7:00 Monday morning. So far, so good. I think we will have a good time and I will learn alot. I'm using my time in Pucallpa to work with a tutor, catch up on emails, and do some things that I don't always have time for--like reading. However, I'm pretty sure my days are going to be extra full these next two weeks.

Things you can pray for are:
-That the next two weeks will go smoothly with Jacob and the houses.
-just to give you an idea, I’ve had to stop this newsletter about 10 times to answer the phone(and try to understand the person on the other end), water the dogs, run get my house keys in case the door slams shut from the wind, and remind Jacob that when we drink all the cold water we must refill the water bottle!
-That my team will minister to the Ashéninka in a completely God-honoring, God-glorifying way.
-That my Spanish will improve drastically over the next couple weeks
-For Kristina(my language partner) that she will understand and embrace God’s truth
-That I will stay focused on my real job—that ALL peoples may know Him
-Dena’s health

And a photo...just to keep you coming back to my blog!

this is where i am currently sitting while i write to ya'll. my desk now has a pretty pink hand woven cloth on it and i have my Ole Miss blanket on my chair instead of the ugly, drab tan one.

"My Hammock in the Shade"

2006-10-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll...sorry i haven't updated this in FOREVER (Foooreeeevvveeerrr, foooorrrreeeevvveerrr--ok sorry, i watched Sandlot the other day) Anyways, not too much has happened here since i returned from my first trip to the jungle. i've been kickin' it peruvian style here lately...restin' in my new hammock and trying to avoid the heat--is that even possible?
anyways....no really, i kinda do have alot in the works right now.

for starters, i have decided to take on a puppy. Mocha(the McAnally's Chocolate Lab) had puppies--they are now three weeks old. i decided i wanted to keep the little runt girl. something about us little people that want to root for the underdog--literally!:) i have decided to name her "Sunshine" because ya'll know i LOVE the sunshine. well, u might not know that, but I DO! i think i will call her "Sunny" sometimes for short--plus that is easier for Peruvians to say.

also, i bought a new hammock..as u can see above. i just love it!
the mcanally's, autumn, and i have had some missonary visitors this week, which has been enjoyable.

sadly, however, dena is sick. she has been sick for over a month now and we are not sure why. therefore, it is looking more like i will be going out on Monday instead of staying in Pucallpa with Jacob. nothing is for sure right now though. i am sticking to the most overused yet underrated missionary word--FLEXIBLE. that is what i have to be right now. tomorrow, i will find out if i stay here or go to the communities, then i will leave on Monday if that is the choice that is made.
also, i have begun working with language partners here in pucallpa. i will be working on language intensively (somewhat intensively anyways) for 1 month. i am really enjoying this and it gives me lots of opprotunities to talk about our work and about JESUS! my current tutor lives behind us in a house with her boyfriend. please pray for me that i can be a good friend to her and can show her God's love.

well, that's about it...i will send out an update about if i'm going or staying soon. i'll also put a post up here about it.

please pray for Dena--that she will feel better and for our team that we will make the right decision about who stays and who goes this month.

I got it!

2006-10-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is it friends-- the piece of plastic that stole all of my time in Lima. But no worries, I have it now! I wasn't really unhappy when the picture was taken...she didn't give me any warning! Well, maybe when I get pulled over el policia will be intimidated!

And just so ya'll will know... I scored intermediate-mid on my language evaluation. I was told that is above what I have to be when I leave the country. Maybe I learned more than I thought as a Spanish major!--- Now pray that I will use it everyday to share the TRUTH with all the lost souls around me!

Ahhh--Things are beginning to get clearer

2006-10-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

If you've ever lived in a foreign country or if you currently find yourself in one, then you know that sometimes it is AFTER THE FACT before you realize what has just happened. Permitame a explicar--Let me explain.

I am in Lima this week--the Capital of Peru--on "business." The business has consisted of getting my Residence Card, having a language evaluation, and getting my Driver's License. The process for getting my Residence Card and Language Evaluation went surprisingly smooth; however, the Driver's License has been an entirely different story.

Let me start at the beginning (a very appropriate place to start by the way). When I was still in the United States I was instructed to obtain an International Driver's License so that I could get my License in Peru without taking a Driving Test. So, my mother and I went to the huge metropolis of Jackson, MS to the AAA office where I payed $10 dollars and walked out with a International Driver's Permit. Too Easy, Right? Well, so it seemed until TODAY--today, many miles away in a very foriegn office. But I'm not to that part yet.

So, yesterday after getting my Residence Card, Ada, the most fabulous Peruvian lady EVER, took me to the "Doctor's" office where I took a eye test and an aptitude test (this is a very important detail). Well, the eye test was interesting--i covered each eye repeated the letters and then the nice Dr. asks, "how strong is your perscription". I answered his question by handing him my glasses, whereupon he took them, looked through them, and said in English, "very bad, no?" haha! Which I answered, "Si, mis ojos son muy malos". Then I walked into the aptitude test--however, I did not realize that I was taking an aptitude test. My American self thought I was taking the written driving test... so when i was asked the question (in Spanish) Jorge Somebody is a very excellent... a)painter b)biologist c)artist d)author...I was thinking what in the world does this have to do with DRIVING?! Oh well, I answered the questions as best I could, but I don't think the test administrator liked me much. I think it had to do with the fact that she knew I spoke more Spanish than I was letting on (Ada told me to play the dumb American). However, I apparently passed this test, but I was still confused as I walked out the door with half of the "getting-my-license" process finished.

Yesterday afternoon, after running all over Lima to find a notary office that was open--which we never found because it was Siesta time, we went to the Driver's License office so that I could take the written test. I was allowed to take this test in English and I was assured that we could bring the notarized copy of my International License the next day. As I was being seated to take my test a lady brought a cookie to the test administrator, I turned to her with a big smile and said, "Y para mi?" (And for me?) We all had a good laugh and I began taking my test. Then, five minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the cookie lady--she had brought me the entire bag so that I could choose my own cookie!! Awww! I thanked her and continued my test. Aftering finishing my test I returned to the desk where the test administrator asked me if I wanted to buy some Peruvian chocolate candy. She said her friend was selling it as a fund-raiser(or something to that affect). (I assumed it was like when people sell those chocolate covered almond bars in the States for charity). It only cost 2 soles(less than $1) so I thought, "why not, it may even help my test score." After I bought the candy the lady graded my test and lo and behold--I passed!! So, we left with our promise that we would return with the notarized copy the next morning.

Which brings us to today. After my language evaluation Ada and I took the notarized copy to the License office--I waited in the taxi. She was also talking to her friend about rushing the process because I need my license before I leave Lima on Friday (the process is usually 2 days which I don't have). However, after like 10 minutes Ada comes out and says there is a problem with my name on the International Driver's License. I went in to check it out and of all things my Surname (which is Last Name) was listed as Lane! My actual Last Name was not written anywhere on the document except in my signature---I knew that AAA office experience in Jackson was too easy!

So, what do we do now? Well, as I said Ada is the best Peruvian ever and not only that but she has lots of connections. Therefore, her friend in the License office called her friend in another office and well let's just say that little mistake was pushed under the rug. All we needed to do was go see the friend of the friend at another office 30 minutes away. Ada graciously offered to drive me there after lunch. So, after lunch we loaded up in her car and went to the other office...which resembeled a, i don't know, MILITARY CAMP! It was a very cold and intimidating place, but we were eventually directed to the friend's office and everything was checked out. So, the word was that after waiting in a few more lines we could walk away with my license in hand! Yeah, you're thinking it--TOO EASY!

We get to the last line and are told that a signature is missing; therefore, the documents aren't valid! Which signature you ask... The Psycologist. And who exactly is the Psycologist--the one who gave me the "aptitude" test--OOOOOOHHHH, so that's why those questions had nothing to do with driving! (This is the part where everything becomes VERY CLEAR AFTER the fact.)The not-so-nice lady who gave me the aptitude test had a name now, Isabel--the only name from the "Doctor's" office without a signature. So friends, what lesson have we learned? "Clearly" you need to buy candy from everybody in the Driver's License process!

Just so you know...tomorrow morning I should be able to obtain the signature and get my license before I leave Lima! Or so I'm told!

P.S. I ADDED 2 VIDEOS TO THE PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRY. SEE BELOW!
P.P.S. CLICK OVER THERE --> UNDER LINKS: "MORE OF MY PICTURES" TO SEE, YOU GUESSED IT, MORE OF MY PICTURES

Pictures and Highlights

2006-09-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

1st Week:
Five Team Members- Two Peruvians, Three Americans; One Plane, One Boat, Two Rivers(I think), Two Communities, Three Machetes, Several Dozen Asheninka, “Bastante” (Lots of) Farm Animals, One Wedding, Two Different “Houses”, Three Outhouses (and Plenty of Tall Grass), Too Much Luggage, Lots of Babies Scared of White Faces, Three Futbol(soccer) Games—Five Goals scored by ME, One Possibly-Broken Toe, One Night of Illness, Six Bathes in the River, One Million Bugs, Several Beautiful Sunsets

2nd Week:Same Boat, Two Different Communities, One Fiesta, Half Dozen Tarantulas, Five Bathes in the River, Several More Beautiful Sunsets, Eight Baby Chicks, Two Lives Changed for Eternity!, One Leaky Roof, Three Different “Houses”, Two Very Refreshing Cold Showers in Atalaya, Same Plane to Pucallpa

This is a video of our take-off from the Jungle Runway. Don't you just feel like Nate Saint--oh, wait, that would be me--I feel like Nate Saint.

And these are the kids in Galilea singing in Asheninka. No matter how loud you make your volume you still can't understand the words--SORRY! :)
The following are a few of the couple hundred pictures I took while out in the communities:

Asheninka ladies cultivating the community walkway with machetes. I was able to help with this a little...it is very hot and tiring work.

The cutest little baby. I love this child. Her older sister (age 5) took care of her most of the time and was always willing to let me take her off her hands for a while.

This was my bathtub in Puerto Esperanza (the third community we visited)

These were my toilets in Pensilvania (the first community I visited)

This was my house in Pensilvania

The plane that took us to Atalaya (small town/village on the rivers-- we took a boat from Atalaya to the communities)

I will try to give a more thorough update later. I have been online since 6 a.m. this morning trying to get out my Newsletter and put pictures online for all of you. Dial-up makes the whole process pretty slow. It is now 8:15 p.m.

I'm going to Lima on Tuesday where I will have access to fast internet. I plan to upload alot of my pictures onto a website while I'm there. Just keep checking back for updates! Thank you all for your prayers these past two weeks!

I love ya'll!!

Whoa! Can we say "CRAZINESS"?

2006-09-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

ok, so last night i went to a concert here. the group is Christian. they are like rappers from Honduras. they are MKs -- se llama (called) DC Reto. they are like the most popular band in Peru right now, which is really cool since their whole message is Christian.
so Autumn and i go to the concert, right...of course, i mean this has the potential to be a cultural experience of a lifetime! and boy, i think it was!

first, the tickets say the concert starts at 8:00 -- yeah right! we are in South America! but being the grigas that we are Autumn and i showed up at 7:45 to get our spot in line... and it is a good thing we got there at that time because the line started backing up for blocks after about 30 more minutes. so, as we stand in line and begin talking to the people in front of and behind us. the guy in front of me was named Omar and the girl behind Autumn was Milagro (meaning miracle). i believe they let us inside the park area (soccer field i think) at like 9:00. we get inside and there is all this space and so we just kinda walk toward the front with our new friends Omar and Milagro. then Milagro keeps wanting to get closer...and so we go with her...at this point Omar stays back. we end up standing about 3 rows back from the front---CRAZINESS i tell u. we are squashed in there like sardines. so we wait there all smashed up for like 45 more minutes. i think the band finally came out at 10:00. and then it was pure craziness. we were jumping mosh pitt fashion surrounded by Peruvians. after a few songs the white guy (band guy) says, "how many latin americans are here" and all the Peruvians go crazy screamin' and stuff. THEN, he says, "now i see some faces like mine out there, some gringos...how many gringos are here?" and me and autumn are jumping and screaming....haha! then he says, "and i bet alot of you gringos are missionaries...how many missionaries are here?" then we scream louder. it was way fun. after a few more songs these crazy guys came pushing through the crowd and squished us, so i grabbed Autumn and we headed farther back where we could breath. we had a great time....very much a cultural experience.

Okay, so Tuesday I leave for 2 weeks. I will be out from September 12th - 29th telling Bible stories to the Asheninka. I'm all packed and ready to go.

this would be my clothes for the next 2 weeks. that is right 3 outfits, one waterproof bag! and this is my trusty Kelty and my sleeping mat-- which will be strapped to my pack. oh, and my fancy new shoes from buffalo peak!

Now for the reflective side of Lane. I have spared ya’ll up until now by not being all self-reflective; however, I was listening to a song yesterday and it made me want to write in my journal. And now I want to share that journal entry with ya’ll.

Oddly enough the song I was listening to was “I’m Movin’ On” by Rascall Flatts.
These are the words that made me begin my journal entry: “I never dreamed home would end up where I don’t belong…I’m movin’ on…I know there are no guarantees but I’m not alone [God is with me].”

Here goes:
I’ve always known I was a little different. The first clue was when my mama told me I was at the age of about 8 or 10. However, I’ve also always known that God wanted to use that “different” part of me for Himself.
The trip that I’m about to embark on in 2 days is something I have only read and dreamed about. And for many years I thought that Missionary biographies and National Geographic articles would be the only places I would be able to experience this stuff. But, lo and behold, God has brought all things together – my quirks, my love of the outdoors, my hardships, my experiences, and my zest for the extreme – to bring me to the Ashéninka people of Peru! How exciting!
Finally, I am not reading about my dream, but living it. Now, I (not a yellow magazine) am the author of my story!

So there you have it friends… please continue to pray:

That God will give me super-natural Spanish speaking abilities
That the hearts of the Asheninka will be open to hear God’s truth
That I will be a blessing and encouragement to the Asheninka and my team
That my stomach will be calm and my back will be strong

“Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.” Colossians 4: 3 & 4

Arive Paasoonke!

Mostly Pictures--That's all ya'll care about anyways!

2006-09-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

WARNING!: to those of you who do not like long posts (i will not mention names--johnny!) you will not want to read this! it ended up being longer than i had planned. But there are some really fun pictures...so do as you wish!

The following are pictures of the past several days. Beginning with our trip on Saturday to the Waterfall.

On Saturday we went to a Waterfall. It was 3 and 1/2 hours away by car. The roads were bumpier than anything i have ever experienced in my entire life. i'm talking MAJOR holes in the road and instead of being made out of gravel the roads were made out of like BOULDERS...it was insane. The above picture was our first stop. This construction worker lady was all decked out in orange. She decided if she had to wear it she was going to make it look good. She had on orange earrings and a sparkly orange belt. She was also steady eating her breakfast (notice the leaf she is holding filled with something). Cars were lined up behind us for quite a ways, but no worries b/c there was plenty to be bought and eaten on the side of the road. Everyone unloaded out of their cars and the vendors got very excited at the sight of so may cutomers.

This is Dena buying tamales from one of the roadside vendors! She is all about getting the food sold on the side of the road! I garantee you she did not pay the original price offered her by the lady--she is quite the bargainer!

Here is all the cars lined up on our return trip. This is just as everyone was hopping back into their vehicles.
Here is the waterfall. It is known as the bride's veil. We had lots of fun swimming and sitting under the waterfall. Sadly, however, I did not get much of a tan.
This would be my first experience with the squatty potties in Peru. Regardless of what that sign says, there was NOTHING "hygenic" about that experience. The little plastic gave you "un poquito" (a little) privacy, but no worries because the smell scared away any curious onlookers!
Autumn and I bundled up during our Asheninka lesson (We have been studying Asheninka every afternoon at 3 o'clock-- so far I'm not very good; Autumn is the language expert between us). The temperature at that moment was 75 degrees F. Haha! We were seriously COLD! The wind blew our dry erase board over and spilled my Orange Fanta (which you can see on my clothes in the following picture). The temperature was in the 70s for two days and it was VERY refreshing--it felt like football weather!! (Hotty Toddy!)
Here you see Jetta (the McAnally's dog) with her sweater on as well. You also see the wet spots on my clothes from spilled Fanta. Jetta sleeps with me several nights a week-- please do not tell Gus, he will be jealous!
Here is the beloved plumber who brought HOT water to our lovely casa! That is our shower wall torn to pieces before it was retiled and after he put the pipes in. After I took this picture he shut the door---ooops, maybe he's a little camera shy! Elbert told me I should ask before i take photos! but Elbert, that eliminates all the candid shots!
This is one of the fruit and vegtable markets in town. Notice the truck coming down the narrow road! I would hardly call this road one-way, but somehow Peruvians are capable of driving trucks, motortaxis, cars, and fruit-stands down this ally all at once! These people are amazing!
This is at a restaurant--i forget the name, where we can get roasted chicken. This is the chickens roasting--obviously! mmmmm, good stuff. that was my supper last night (well, actually mine was fried last night!)

And finally my bed! That would be an OLE MISS blanket! Go Rebels!! Ya'll made me proud on Sunday as I listened to the game on the internet.

My first trip out to the Asheninka communities is on September 12th. That is 6 days from today. We will visit three different communities during a two week period. I have been given the responsibility of sharing my testimony (in Spanish, of course), teaching 1 story to the adults, and 1 or 2 stories to the children at each of the 3 communities. Please pray for my Spanish ability and that hearts will be open to God's truth. Also pray as I prepare these stories over the next several days that I will know what words to use. Pray that my nerves will be calm and that my STOMACH will be calm as well. This is what I have dreamed about and I want to take the truth to these people with joy and not with aprehension or nervousness! Please pray for boldness!

1st Video (and what I did while it loaded)

2006-09-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

the picture is my team. the mcanally's(dena, jacob, and marty) and my partner autumn beside me

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing

i hope this thing works! i waited an hour and a half for it to upload to the internet! ya'll better stinkin' enjoy the traffic in Pucallpa! :) j/k. this is a video of us riding back home from town on a motor taxi. motor taxis are self-explanitory...just watch the video and u will see a million of them. we did almost get hit by that fruit truck and we ran a red light too--fun times! don't worry, my life really isn't in danger:)

while i waited for this video to upload i watched the plumbers (someone has to be here with them), talked a little to an Asheninka lady and her son (they passed through on their way to Lima--he has to have surgery). They walked to days to catch some kind of bus and came here and now are taking a bus to Lima. Be thankful you can drive to a local hospital!

i also ate a bag of cheetos...or should i say chizitos (that sounds like our made up language courtney!--hizzy kizzy!) anyways, all the while my roommate has been at the McAnally's house helping prepare for Marshall's(the volunteer from the States)going away party which is in 30 minutes! Let me go try to wipe some of the Pucallpa dirt off my body before i go to the party!

Bike Riding 101 -- Motor Bikes that is!

2006-08-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

Friends!!! I have been in Pucallpa for 5 days now and they have flown by. The high points have been learning to ride a motor scooter and a motorcycle (yes, they are different), shopping for a monkey in the market, and going to a mini-zoo full of odd jungle animals.

Each day has been slap full of activities. It is amazing how many things can happen here in one day and the number of random visitors you may have. For example, today I decided to sleep in a little --til 8:30. I went to get in the shower, but as soon as I sat down on the toilet the plumber showed up(with his helpers) ready to install the hot water. So, I took all my stuff over to the McAnally's and showered there--which was fine cuz they already have hot water. Did ya'll hear that? I'm getting hot water--now all of you will have hot water when you visit!!!-exciting stuff! Meanwhile after I get out of the shower a teenage boy was going door to door to make sure people did not have standing water around their houses. He was explaining what dingi is and how misquitos are bred--I did not know how to tell him that I'm from Mississippi and we don't leave water standing either:) A while back there was an outbreak of dingi(that fever that killed the girl in John Grishom's book The Testament). Anyways, our house got a stamp of approval for not having standing water. He really stretched my Spanish skills though---he talked really fast. I did, however, understand when he told me that i looked 16--thank you little peruvian boy! And yesterday the phone company came by to put in an extra phone line for my room. So, now I can sit in my room and update this blog instead of having to sit on my roommate's bed. That is all the exciting visitors I can think of at the moment, but I assure you, there have been more.

After learning how to ride the motor scooter (moto) I decided to take it a step higher (actually I was encouraged by my team) and learn how to drive a motorcycle. I never thought I would do that--but don't worry ya'll, I never went past 1st gear. I will though--one day. The next thing on my adventurous to do list is to drive the McAnally's stick shift truck. If I get good enough and confident enough I will get a truck of my own--oh boy!!

I'm still waiting to hear back from the monkey guy (the guy from the market who said he would call when he got the kind of monkey we wanted).

I don't want ya'll to think it has been all play though. Me and Autumn did rake the yard yesterday--that was quite a chore. And everyday we have to wash the dishes by hand (no dish washers here). Amazing how well I can do these things when my mama is not telling me to! See I did pay attention when she was teaching me!

One last thing, Dena has been teaching Autumn and I Asheninka these past two afternoons. I bet ya'll could learn to really "hold it" if you had to say "Where is the bathroom?" like this:
Tsica picaatapiintaca? Now maybe that will make ya'll pray a little harder for me when I'm out in the communities:)!

Well, I guess that is all for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I will try to do more later!

that's me on the scooter

the covered boat is the kind we rode to the zoo, this is the lake that turns into the river during rainy season

mi casa

WOW! what a week!

2006-08-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

ok! here goes! warning!: this entry is going to be super long, not very reader friendly with its lack of pictures--it is not for the faint of heart! now don't say you haven't been warned!

here we go! I think I will start with Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday is good. I did not receive word about my Visa on Monday as I had hoped so badly. However, Tuesday afternoon, I received word that my Visa was in the U.S. and ready to be picked up! I was so excited I could barely breath. I looked at my mama and said, “what do I do now?” haha, so I got on the phone and started calling the powers-that-be to get me to D.C. Well, needless to say, I couldn’t leave that very minute so it was this huge high just to be let down---b/c there was nothing I could do THAT MINUTE! Well, I had become very anxious over those two days and had many things on my mind, so Tuesday night I read and prayed through Psalm 139. It was so powerful to me at that time (it always is, but that night I felt God was speaking right to my heart). He was saying to me, “Lane, I love you so much, I know everything about you and everything you need, Do you trust me?” So, I journaled for a while and just poured out all my “anxious thoughts” and told him how much I really did trust Him with everything. I knew that He wanted me in Peru to work with the Asheninka, and I surrendered to His timetable. I slept better that night than I have in a long time!

He also comforted me with these words: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I take the wings of the dawn(on a jet plane!!), If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea[or jungle!], Even there Your hand will lead me." God is so good to give us such words of comfort!

Wednesday morning I woke up and things were already moving (because God says, "When I awake, I am still with you")!! Yay! I did as I was told and called the consulate first thing Wednesday morning. Well, right after I left a message and hung up, Brenda(my regional office secretary) called me and said that I could be ticketed for that afternoon!!!! I started screaming I was so excited. Then she put me on hold and while I was on hold the Consulate called back to set up an appointment for me to pick up my Visa! So, I talked to him on the other line while my mama held for Brenda. When I got back on the phone with Brenda my plane tickets were being confirmed and they were working on getting me a hotel close to the airport. Needless to say, God’s timing is SOOO perfect. Everything happened at once. (this was all about 9:30 a.m.)

I left mama’s office at 12 and went home to wrap up the details of my luggage. Granny came to see me from 12:30 until I left at 2. She said she couldn’t go to the airport because she would cry too much! I love that lady!!! So, I left my house at 2 in order to be PLENTY early for my 5:30 flight. It is normally a 1 hour drive, but OF COURSE we got behind a wreck!! We sat there for 45 minutes and I got very impatient. And I prayed Lord, have you taught me nothing about your timing—I KNOW you have it in control! I know that I’m a slow learner and I guess He thought I needed another lesson in patience. So, of course, I made it to the airport in time and got checked in. I believe I was there at 3:45, checked-in, and sat down with my family and waited for the final goodbye. I said my final goodbyes at approximately 4:25; there were no tears on my part---crazy I know! I’m just so ready and my dream is coming true!

So, after my layover in North Carolina I boarded my last plane of the night and made it into Washington D.C. at ten til 11(EST). I called the hotel and asked for the shuttle service, an attendant helped me get my bags off the baggage claim and put them into the shuttle(the u.s. airways attendant that helped me was from Africa--Ghana. he wants me to go to Ghana and be a missionary--i told him i wanted to one day!). I made it to the hotel (with all four bags!) about 11:30 and went to sleep around 1:00 I think.

However, I didn’t sleep long because I guess I was just thinking about the details of the next day---having to go get my Visa. I looked at a thousand maps and just decided to forget the metro and take a taxi to the Consulate. The address I got offline was for the Peruvian Embassy---I wasn’t sure if this was the same as the consulate or not(and am still not..lol!). So, the nice taxi driver (that the hotel called for me) took me to the Peruvian Embassy. I went in said I had an appointment with German (Herman) and was informed that he was not in the Embassy but the Consulate (OHH, so there is a difference!). Well, where is the consulate? No worries just across the street! Easy enough you say!! Well, not when you’re on a corner!! So, I walked around some more, found the Consulate of the Philippines! Nice folks those Philippines. Anyways, German had given me his number so I called and got EXACT directions for “across the street.” I found it!! I was there early and waited 30 minutes. I got my Visa stamped in and that was it! Back out into the big city to catch a taxi for myself. The right one(an iranina taxi driver who wanted to know my story--go figure:) came along after a little walking and I was on my way back to the hotel.

I waited there for about 2 and ½ hours and then the shuttle took me back to the airport, an American Airlines attendant helped me with my bags and I waited in line and checked in! Now, here I am!(i wrote this while waiting in the D.C. airport)
Every person that helped with my baggage was so nice and I was able to share my story with several people along the way. I was asked more than once why I was not married. (haha, i guess a little white girl with 4 massive bags makes people want to ask questions!) I said that I really want to be one day when i find the perfect man God has for me! Every person I dealt with those two days was International. It was a great all around cultural experience! Not to mention the Peruvian consulate! It was just a little Peru! It made me so excited --- I used more Spanish than English and that was exciting too!

So, then i flew from D.C. to Miami, i waited about an hour in the Miami airport before boarding. I thought, "here i go...my dream is about to be real!"
Now, my flight from Miami to D.C. deserves a entry all its own, but i will spare you---my new friend Raul deserves a blog all his own!--lol, let me explain.
I got on the plane and found my seat. it was between a Peruvian man(window seat--important detail) and an Italian man(isle seat). when i sat down i thought that the Peruvian man was going to be very quiet and sleep the whole time; HOWEVER, when the plane took off, he came out of his shell.

He first asked me where i was from and then immediately asked me if i was a Christian! when i responded, "yes", he said, "we should pray for our flight." now wait just a minute...I AM THE MISSIONARY!! that is suppose to be my question! haha! before i prayed i made sure that he too was a Christian. he interrupted my prayer with, "don't forget to ask forgiveness of our sins". so then i finished praying and he said, "if this plane crashes we will go to heaven." i said that is right!
So, the night goes on and Mr. Raul, with two children--twins who are 30(boy and girl), would not let me sleep. well, i guess he wasn't opposed to my sleeping, but he needed to ask me lots of questions during the entire flight! however, the most hilarious thing that happened was when i was dead asleep at one point and i suddenly felt water in my LAP!!!!!!!! i woke up with a jerk and the stewardist and Raul were just looking at me. they had managed to spill water in my lap--Raul was just trying to take care of me by getting me some water. well, i tried to go back to sleep, but my blanket and lap were wet. i did not want to disturb the sleeping italian beside me so i did not ask to get up. i waited about an hour and Raul had to go to the bathroom so he woke up the italian and i took my chance to go change pants(those "forced overnight clothes" are good for more than one thing). i also helped Raul figure out his headphones for the movie--he watched it for like an hour with no sound, hoping he would let me sleep, but he continued to wake me up. once he woke me up to tell me that his wife had died 5 years ago--now how could i sleep knowing that. and most other times he just wanted to look at my watch! now i know i'm OCD when it comes to looking at my watch during flights...but i think i have met my match! and he was looking at MY watch as well!

Anyways, i have a wonderful friend now and the flight was just fine! so, i landed in Lima got through immigrations got my bags and made it through customs no problem! Dena, the career missionary, met me outside and off we went to the guest house. i slept for 2 hours before waking up to check in with the police station here. but not before we ate breakfast at Starbucks, and afterwards I ate lunch at TGIFridays, and did i mention i just finished supper at Chili's!! haha, needless to say, i'm not in the Jungle yet!! But i will be there TOMORROW. my flight leaves at 10 a.m. going to Pucallpa!

now this has been long enough! i love ya'll! sorry for so few pics! they will come!

Wait for the Lord

2006-08-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

okay! here i am waiting! its all good though. i think my visa will come today. if not, surely by tomorrow. but word is that today is the day. now what happens after today is the tricky part! i will have to fly to washington d.c. to get the visa stamped into my passport at the peruvian consulate. it may end up that i fly from d.c. to peru, but it may not. everything is in the air--except me, of course, and that is where i want to be--in the air in a stinkin' plane!
so anyways, that is the latest as of monday august 21st at 12:39 p.m. CST. and here is a picture of how ready i am!!!! this is for those of you who asked "if i'm packed?" here is your answer:

the puppy is my baby, gus gus. he doesn't get to go, but don't tell him. i think he smells something in the air cuz he will not leave my side-EVER. that is why he got into the photo :)!

i will sent out an update newsletter as soon as i know about my visa. thank you for the continued prayers!

i love ya'll!

Been Packed for a While Now!!!

2006-08-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

okay friends! you are probably thinking, "who has time to post all these blogs---that girl has too much time on her hands!" well, you would be right. i do have too much time on my hands. i'm just waiting for that visa to come. in the meantime i thought i would show you my room for the past THREE weeks! that's right i've been packed and ready for THREE weeks! meanwhile, i've been wearing the same two pair of pants and same two shirts for quite a while now(cuz everything else is packed)---I HAVE WASHED THEM!!!

ok, those were my bags about one week ago. now, however, they are all organized and ready to go. and my room is clean!

well, since some of you, that i will refer to as my "special friends"(you like that don't you!), are not able to get my newsletters i am going to post some of my last newsletter here. this is information about the people i will be ministering to while i'm in Peru! please everyone pray for the Asheninka people!

The Ashéninka are indigenous people (meaning they are descendants of the first peoples in Peru and their way-of-life has not changed for hundreds of years). They live in some of the most remote regions of the Peruvian jungle. The only way to reach them is by boat or small aircraft. They live along riverways (tributaries of the Amazon River) and they survive on subsistence farming, hunting, and gathering.
Please imagine with me being born as an Ashéninka child (it is only by the grace of God that you were not). Now your first sights would be muddy rivers, thatch roofs, bamboo huts, open fires for cooking, and jungle animals all around you. Now imagine growing up where the only form of religion is to live in fear of this jungle around you. For example, every animal has a spirit, some are good and some are evil, and death is only one unfamiliar, undiagnosed disease away. The spirits of the animals, trees, sun, and moon are worshipped in hopes that you will not contract one of these unexplainable diseases. There is no truth; there are no absolutes, only fear. The closest thing to an answer is a village witch doctor who is truly the evil one disguised as an angel of light. As an Ashéninka person you would never go out on your own to seek truth because the only life you know to be real is life in the jungle. I mean really, what else could there possibly be? Now, as an Ashéninka person what if in the deepest part of your heart you KNOW this is not all there is to life, yet there is still no one to give you truth. Imagine, me—Lane Brown, walking up to you in your little hut and telling you that I have the Truth that your heart has always longed to know! JUST IMAGINE!!! What would you think? How would you respond? Would you believe this little white girl from some crazy place named the United States?
These are the obstacles I face as a missionary to these people. I so desperately want them to know the truth, and they may desperately want to know it; but we have lots of barriers to cross before the Truth is proclaimed.

i will live in Pucallpa and work up and down the Ucayali River(above) and other tributaries of the Amazon River

read all about them: www.asheninka.net PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Goin' to the Jungle

2006-08-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

this is the picture that i jokingly named "pretending to be in the jungle" while i was in training in Virginia. well friends, i am still pretending cuz i'm not there yet!!

alright! i broke down and created a blog. i am oh so glad i did too because now i can comment on ya'll's blogs without having to be anonymous (although mr. anonymous is known for several very good quotes).

anyways, i made up a little song for my first blog entry. it goes a little something like this to the tune of "Going to the Chapel":

"Goin' to the Jungle"
Goin' to the Jungle and I'm gonna serve Jesus.
Goin' to the Jungle and I'm gonna serve Jesus.
Goin' to the Jungles of Peru.

well, i thought it was fitting anyway because as GAs we used to go the old sanctuary at church and sing "going to the chapel". and now all my GA friends have gone to "the chapel" and gotten married while i on the other hand am going to the jungle. see life comes full circle now doesn't it!

speaking of GAs i had the awesome opprotunity of speaking to the 1st - 6th grade GAs at my home church last night. that was very exciting and they asked many wonderful questions. for example, after i assured them that i was not afraid because God has promised to be with me one very thoughtful girl asked, "you mean you won't be scared when a crocodile comes up behind you and wants to eat you?" haha, i love kids. I assured her again that I would not.

since i left MLC--lovingly known as "the farm", i have been in brookhaven waiting for my visa to come so that i can GO to the Jungle!!! i am so very ready. i was hoping to leave on August 20th, but today is August 17th and no word on the visa. so sad. but God is in control as all of you know and He will get me to the Jungle on His timetable. During my time at home i have spoken to a church nearly every Sunday and Wednesday. i have thoroughly enjoyed speaking and i hope the people all around me are catching the vision of missions.

it has been an interesting week though because my grandfather died on Sunday night and his funeral was yesterday morning. i am so glad that i was in the U.S. and able to minister to my family.

well, i don't want to make this first entry too long because i want to keep ya'll interested and coming back for more!! i know about short attention spans--i have one! but i wanted to add one final thing. one of my favorite people in the world(my high school mentor) has said to me over and over "i do not think the jungle is ready for you, Lane"---maybe she is right and that is why i haven't gotten my visa yet---however, i have one thing to say-- Jungle, GET READY CUZ HERE I COME!!!

i love ya'll!