nos vamos!

it's official! Seth and I both were approved this week to take vacation time in March to go to Perú. It's not such a big deal for me, but Seth was requesting time off right in the middle of Spring Break and when lots of people with more seniority than him usually ask for time off as well. So it's the first (hopefully of many) answered prayers related to this trip.

Now we have to write the letters. Well, we have to print up the letters and address the envelopes. That should be tonight. Thank you to those who have already said you'd support us, it means a lot! I have to admit that this is my least favorite part of mission trips. And having to raise twice the money for both of us to go is not an exciting thought. So God and I have been talking last night and this morning about it, and I'm working on remembering that I have yet to not receive the funds needed to go on any trip, and that God knows how much we need and will supply it in due time. We still don't really know our deadlines or anything, so we kind of made them up, I think.

I've been in love with Perú ever since I first went in 1996. Going into, and even graduating from college I was as certain as anything that I was going to be a missionary to Perú and live in the jungle for the rest of my life. Then I started going to the Rock, and later on this boy came around that I ended up liking a lot. He asked me how certain I was that it was God's will for me to live in Perú forever. This happened to be in the middle of me learning more about God and about him being sovereign and me submitting my life to his will (up to that point, it was more "you ask God for what you want because he'll bless you for your faith" sort of a thing). I really sought God and realized that I was closing doors for myself and putting God in a box by being so certain of myself and this path that I had created.

I know God gave me a gift and ability to learn and speak spanish, and I spent a lot of time studying and working on it to be able to use it well. I also know that there is a reason that I love latin america so much; the people, culture, and language are enchanting to me. I don't necessarily know where that will be used in the future, or even the present, but I know that God is faithful to the dreams and desires that he's given me. I feel that I've probably missed out on some opportunities to use my spanish more in the last few years, but I am trying to be as faithful as I can to follow what I know to be his will for my life.

When Seth and I were getting more serious while we were dating, we actually talked about taking a trip to Perú together. He has always been open to the idea of missions, short or long term, and has been interested in learning about the country that I love so much. We even had friends that we could stay with while we were there. Instead, we ended up getting engaged and then married, and here we are, almost 4 years later (including engagement) and still no trip. So we're both really excited to be able to go, I'm praying for a chance to see my friends from Lima again, but just to see God work in our lives and maybe get a taste of something that he might want us to do in the future will make this trip worth every bit of effort and trust that we'll have to put into it.