Commonly referred to as el carro, the bus is my new form of transportation. We are slowly learning the routes (through many mishaps) and starting to understand this new culture. Like buses in the States, we do not use seat belts. But just how many people can fit on a Peruvian bus? . . . one more. This week I rode on the steps with the door open (don't worry, the cobrador was behind me). I am constantly reminded of God´s continual protection. Personal space does not exist, and I am learning to push my way throught the crowd to get off of the bus. Often when you are standing up, you cannot see out the window. I have missed my stop a few times because of this. However, this has helped me to learn my way around my stops a little better.
This week in Linguistics, our prof has been starting the day with a short devotional. He challenged us from Psalms 84:5,¨Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways.¨ This passage has been an encouragement to me this week as I follow those well-established roads that God has already laid in my heart. The next verse talks about the hard times that this¨blessed man¨ will go through. In the end, he will look back and realize that the dry (Baca) valley has turned into a land of springs. God has a purpose for taking us to the dry places! That is where we are needed most!
Lima is definitely dry. We are starting winter here. It is like living in a cloud. It doesn´t rain, but we don´t see the sun either. It was a little weird to see people in winter coats on the bus when I was comfortable in my t-shirt, but I am adjusting to that, too.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Firsts
Saturday was the first day we were on our own. We decided to go to la cabina (like an internet cafe). Unfortunately, we didn't know how to use our key, so we were locked out of the house until after jovenes (similar to youth group).
First impressions of churches: We will be going to two different churches. Our main church, Las Viñas Altas, is just starting so it does not have services on Sunday mornings.
Our Sunday morning church is in Manchay. The building is brick with dirt floors (this area of Lima does not have running water). Sunday morning service is like Sunday school. We will be attending the junior-senior high girl's class. One of the older ladies invited us over for lunch, but we had to go home so we could make it to evening services in Viñas Altas. In the future, we will ride the bus there, but this week our host missionary let us ride with his family.
On Saturdays (3:30-7), we go to Las Viñas Altas for jovenes. It is in an old restaurant but looks like a dance studio because there are mirrors surrounding it. On Sunday afternoons, we have a kid's club followed by a family service. The church is still quite small, but the people are great.
First bus rides: The first day our host missionary's wife came and rode the bus to school with us. It was very crowded. Last night, we rode the bus home by ourselves.
First Grocery shopping: We get to make our own lunches at school, so we had to buy food yesterday. It was hard figuring out what everything was and comparing soles to dollars, but we made it (and lunch was good today).
First day of classes: The arriba center is nice. I like being surrounded by books and bricks with a lot of windows. We keep the windows and doors open most of the time. (They don't even have screens here--it is so dry that there are not very many bugs) Our spanish tutors are great, and I think we are catching on pretty quickly.
Walls are everywhere! Houses are surrounded by locked walls (often the tops have broken glass to discourage climing).
Our house: We live on a mountain! We see a lot of lights when we look out our window at night. We live on the second and third floor of a building. The house is very nice and our host and hostess are very gracious. The food is pretty good, too.
First impressions of churches: We will be going to two different churches. Our main church, Las Viñas Altas, is just starting so it does not have services on Sunday mornings.
Our Sunday morning church is in Manchay. The building is brick with dirt floors (this area of Lima does not have running water). Sunday morning service is like Sunday school. We will be attending the junior-senior high girl's class. One of the older ladies invited us over for lunch, but we had to go home so we could make it to evening services in Viñas Altas. In the future, we will ride the bus there, but this week our host missionary let us ride with his family.
On Saturdays (3:30-7), we go to Las Viñas Altas for jovenes. It is in an old restaurant but looks like a dance studio because there are mirrors surrounding it. On Sunday afternoons, we have a kid's club followed by a family service. The church is still quite small, but the people are great.
First bus rides: The first day our host missionary's wife came and rode the bus to school with us. It was very crowded. Last night, we rode the bus home by ourselves.
First Grocery shopping: We get to make our own lunches at school, so we had to buy food yesterday. It was hard figuring out what everything was and comparing soles to dollars, but we made it (and lunch was good today).
First day of classes: The arriba center is nice. I like being surrounded by books and bricks with a lot of windows. We keep the windows and doors open most of the time. (They don't even have screens here--it is so dry that there are not very many bugs) Our spanish tutors are great, and I think we are catching on pretty quickly.
Walls are everywhere! Houses are surrounded by locked walls (often the tops have broken glass to discourage climing).
Our house: We live on a mountain! We see a lot of lights when we look out our window at night. We live on the second and third floor of a building. The house is very nice and our host and hostess are very gracious. The food is pretty good, too.
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