However the next day, Les, an older student on campus who is here in Peru with his wife and children, asked me if I wanted to start praying with him for more of the Spirit. We are now praying Tuesday and Thursday mornings for the Spirit of God to do a great work among us. I am excited to see what God will do!

I didn’t want to council him one way or the other. I believe that God can heal and that He did heal Daniel. But I didn’t want to force Daniel to do anything. I wanted him to seek the Lord himself. I also didn’t want to be the cause of a seizure if God had not healed him. I told him that I didn’t know what he should do. Instead I said, “Let’s pray!” So we prayed and stood in silence for a while waiting for God to speak. I didn’t here anything, but Daniel apparently heard God affirm His love for him. He also heard something in Spanish: “Me era la mensaje.” Translated it means: “I was the message.” It was a clear sentence with perfect grammar. Even with the Spanish that Daniel knows, he said he couldn’t have formed that phrase. We were praying about the words that Daniel heard in Parque Kennedy, “You are free” and God answered us, “I was the message.”

But Daniel didn’t look up the Spanish phrase until later the next day. So that night we decided to wait for more direction from God and asked Him to speak to us through our classes and homework, through reading, visions, and dreams…

The next day as I was reading the Bible and writing in my journal, the Lord spoke pretty clearly to me. First he spoke through the story of Noah (Genesis 6). Noah did according to God’s word to him. There was no such thing as rain in Noah’s day (there was a fog that rose up and covered the earth and watered the plants). So God’s word about water from heaven and a flood was pretty far-fetched.  But despite the odds, despite what common sense might say, despite what people might say, despite the shame and humiliation, Noah obeyed God’s word. He persevered and built the ark. It took Noah 100 years to build the ark. For 100 years Noah waited for God to fulfill His word. That’s a lot of faith! I saw immediately how this had application to the situation with Daniel. But even more so than this, what I read in Matthew blew me away. I am just going to quote it:

“And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. And the news about Him went out into all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, taken with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.” (Italics mine)

- Matthew 4:23-24

I didn’t go out of my way to find these passages, they came up in my daily reading routine/schedule. This was an apparent and immediate answer to our prayer the night before (speak to us through… reading, etc.).

In addition, that day in one of our classes Dwayne (the assistant director of the Bible College and one of our teachers) shared about stepping out in faith. As he described it, “Bungee jump off of the fingers of Jesus!” I shared with Daniel what God had showed me. He also shared how God had given him a dream in which he stopped taking the pills. God had spoken quite clearly! Nonetheless, Daniel was not sure. I prayed with him again and gave it into the Lord’s hands. The choice is Daniel’s to make, not mine…

After I remembered, I just kept it to myself. I didn’t really know anyone yet. We had all just met five days ago! I checked my Facebook and was comforted and deeply thankful to all my friends who wished me a happy birthday. Though I forgot, they hadn’t (or Facebook reminded them… but I like to think the former).

But Facebook didn’t keep my secret. I had become Facebook friends with a student on campus and he saw the birthday reminder in the news feed. He came and wished me a happy birthday and my secret got out. The campus sang happy birthday to me at dinner. The next day, Juanita (the cook) made me a giant chocolate cake. It was the best chocolate cake I have ever had!

During the spring months Lima is always cloudy. But the night of my birthday it cleared up a little and there was a beautiful sunset. I thanked God for my wonderful birthday presents: a semester in Peru, a great student/faculty body, and an amazing sunset!

We got into the van with David, the representative from the orphanage, and we were on our way. I took pictures on the ride out there. The further out of Lima you get, the poorer the communities become. I was saddened to find out that people lived in the many small shacks along the highway.

As we neared the orphanage, the surrounding district seemed to be one of the poorest. However, the orphanage stood out! It was a beautiful piece of property (compared to that which was around it). It was named Hogar De Hannah (Or Hannah’s Home). Hannah means grace. So it is the Home of Grace. What a beautiful name!

When we arrived at the orphanage we got out of the van and met Max, the dog. He was very cute! David explained to us a little about what was going on. The orphanage is not open yet; they are still in construction. But some of the buildings are finished and they hope to have them inspected and open them soon in order to start ministering to the children. David (the orphanage guy) has been in Peru for around two years overseeing the construction. He will be leaving soon. He has been helping Leslie (the overseer of the orphanage/property), Leslie’s wife and family to complete the work.

The building was white when we got there. Our job was to paint it orange and an off-white color to make it look nice. I took photos of as much of the property as I could before my camera batteries died, but I didn’t get the before and after shots. We got to the orphanage around 9:00am and got home around 6:30pm. It was a long day, but it was fun! We packed our lunches and ate there. When we finished we played a short game of volleyball (they had a net on the property)!

It was a privilege to serve and know that our work was making the place nicer for the children who will live there. God is good. I pray that those children will experience the grace of God and His love and that they might come to know salvation in Jesus Christ.

There is so much that is happening all the time. It has been an incredible experience. Every moment is sweet. The Lord is so good to me!

Saturday after we went to the Palacio Del Gobierno basically everyone went to their rooms and fell asleep. I went to the men’s study lounge and journaled. It took me a long time because so much had happened. When I finished journaling another student on campus named Daniel asked me if I wanted to go evangelizing. I was so excited! Praise God for someone who has been here for four semesters and has gone witnessing at a park every Friday. So I went to Parque Kennedy with Daniel and two other brothers, Jesse and Joel. I believe that Joel is only sixteen but he is in love with the Lord! At first we thought more people were going to go, but they all gave excuses, that it wasn’t their call or they didn’t feel like it, or that they would sit this one out. It was somewhat discouraging and almost made me not want to go. But that didn’t deter Daniel, so we went! We walked to one of the main roads and signaled a taxi. All of us were gringos so it was hard to get a fair price. We had to ask three different taxis. Finally we got one. Daniel sat in front and Jesse, Joel, and I sat in the back. It was a full taxi! Immediately Daniel began witnessing to the taxi driver in Spanish. Meanwhile Jesse, Joel, and I talked about how pumped we were to evangelize, how God had called us, how He appoints and ordains such moments, and we began to pray for God to move and to anoint us and use us for His glory and that He might save people through our conversations.

We got off at Parque Kennedy and began walking, looking for people to talk to. I wanted to talk to every person I saw, but I was limited/hindered because of the language barrier. I can speak some Spanish, but only some. We kept walking for a while and I was just bursting wanting to share the good news. We walked past a man who was getting a taro card reading with an old lady on a bench. (There were a lot of people at Parque Kennedy… a lot of people! It was around 7:00 in the evening). At first we walked by the man, but Daniel stopped walking with a concerned look on his face. We asked him what was going on. He said that he had a strong conviction and burden on his heart to tell that man that he should stop looking at the taro cards and stop seeking truth in the wrong places. With a little hesitation he went back and did so. Both the man and the woman ended up yelling at him to leave. But, at least he was faithful and obedient to God’s leading. We continued on and Daniel seemed a little shaken and off kilter by the incident so I suggested we stop and pray. We did. Soon after Daniel saw a man walking and stopped him to talk with him. Jesse stayed with Daniel while me and Joel went and talked with a man sitting on a bench. He was an older Peruvian gentleman. I introduced myself in Spanish but when he began to speak, I had a difficult time understanding. Luckily Joel is fluent in Spanish. He is the son of a missionary and lived in Ecuador for many years before coming to Lima. From what I gathered from the conversation that ensued was that the man was an atheist. He believed that we die and that is it. He believed in evolution. But in addition, he kept changing subject and talking about unrelated things. Later a young woman joined us as well. She was Catholic, but she was confused and had mixed and contradicting beliefs. I know that Joel was a little overwhelmed by the things they were saying. He can speak the language and understood what they were saying, but he was not able to keep up with them so much intellectually. The whole time I was trying to listen to hear and understand what they were saying, but I was having a difficult time. I probably should have spent a little more time praying for Joel and the people we were talking to. I kept feeling like, if I could only speak the language, I could answer their questions and make a rebuttal to their claims. But God convicted me that He saves, not me. And that apologetics is a tool, but it is not the power of God unto salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation! As far as I could tell, Joel shared about the crucifixion of Christ. I do not think that he mentioned the burial and resurrection of Christ which are crucial to the gospel. I also do not think that he shared about sin and God’s holiness, righteousness, and justice. I know Joel’s heart and I believe it was pure. I also know that God is faithful and I trust that He will use our feeble effort to share truth and love the people of Peru. I definitely realized my great need to learn Spanish.

While we were talking to this man and woman, a little boy, maybe three years old, came up to me with a pack of gum and started tugging on my pants and making really cute faces and noises. At first I thought he was just playful and somewhat lost, a loose child that had escaped the grasp of his parent for a little while, but I soon realized that he was a salesman! He was trying to get me to buy gum! His mother came soon afterward with the bigger box and the rest of the gum. It was cute, funny, but also sad. I pray that God will provide for her and her son and clothe them, feed them, and give them shelter.

When Joel and I finished talking to the atheist man and confused Catholic woman, we met up with Daniel and Jesse who had several short conversations with different people. We shared about what happened in each of our groups and prayed together. Joel mentioned that he had to get back home soon to take meds for an ear infection and I asked if we could pray for his ear to be healed. So we prayed and I asked him how it felt. He wasn’t really sure, which meant that it was the same (Often it seems that people feel pressured to say that it feels different). So I said that we should pray again. Before we did, Daniel also asked if we could pray that he would be healed from his epilepsy. Apparently he had given up asking for God to heal him believing that it was his thorn in the flesh, kind of like Paul. But recently he has begun to believe that he can be healed and to asked for healing. So we prayed for Joel’s ear and Daniel’s epilepsy. Before we prayed I told them not to be afraid to pray and that all of us could pray, not just one of us and then we are done. So we all prayed and it was amazing! While I was praying for Joel’s ear, I felt like I should rebuke the infection… I felt kind of strange about it. But Jesus rebuked Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever. So I rebuked the infection in the name of Jesus Christ. We finished praying much later. When we finished I asked how Joel’s ear felt and he said that when I rebuked it, he felt some sort of light and something like a pop. I don’t know if it was healed or not and I have no idea what that means, but it was interesting to say the least!

Right then as we were finishing praying and talking, Daniel saw the man who was reading the taro cards walk by. He told us that he saw him and I suggested we pray for him again, but before we could, he came over to us and began talking to us! He wanted to know why Daniel chose to talk to him and no one else. Daniel shared how God spoke to him and put it on his heart. From that point we began about an hour long conversation with this guy. He was searching for answers and Daniel had some things in common with him concerning their testimonies and lives. The man had done a lot of drugs, sex, alcohol, and he seemed somewhat broken. Definitely searching… We shared the gospel as best we could with our limited Spanish. At one point the man said that he felt separate and alienated from us, possibly because of the language barrier. So near the end of our conversation we began to talk about music. He really liked a lot of American bands, especially old rock and roll and hardcore music. At the very end an older Peruvian gentleman came up to us with a Bible and was excited to see us out sharing the gospel. Christian Jesus (that was the name of the taro card guy… ironic right?) was there when this man spoke to us. We gave Christian our emails and the church service times and address as well as the Bible College address. Who knows what will happen!

On Sunday we went to Calvary Chapel Lima. It is a Spanish service. John Bonner, the pastor of the church introduced us (the students) to the church body. The worship was amazing as was the service. I loved it! I understood a lot more than I thought I would. It is easy to understand John’s Spanish. He also uses power point so you can read the main points (howbeit in Spanish). The church just began a new study on the book of Hebrews. John gave an introduction to the book and taught on the first three verses. He spoke about the superiority of Christ and that the main theme of Hebrews is that Jesus is superior in all aspects. He is the greatest! The book of Hebrews is considered by some as the “fifth gospel” to the Jews. John spoke of God and how He is eternally existent with no beginning and no end. He is completely other! He spoke of the different ways in which God has spoken in the past giving examples from the Old Testament and how in these last days God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and that this way of communication is so much greater and superior. We have Christ! God lives in us! He spoke about listening to God and hearing His voice.

God keeps bringing this up, listening, abiding, hearing, discerning His will. In teachings and in devotionals and in testimonies and in my circumstances the Lord continues to bring me back to this point: I must learn to hear His voice, to listen, and to obey. This is part of abiding in Christ! This message was similar to the message the youth pastor gave at the Friday Night Live worship meeting. It is the same message I get from listening to David’s testimony.

After church we came back to the campus and had lunch. I wandered around for a little while not really sure what to do with my time. I began to play the guitar when Daniel said that Aaron, a Peruvian that I met a day or two before was looking for me. I had forgotten who he was until I saw his face. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to a park in Magdalena. Magdalena is a municipality in Peru. It is a nicer district and it is the district in which the Bible College is situated. The area where Aaron was going is a little less affluent however. Many of the kids’ parents work long hours in the market and so the kids are left alone to play at the park all day. So Aaron goes down there, often by himself, and plays games with the kids, sings some songs, teaches, and then gives the kids pictures to color. He teaches them about Jesus and he teaches them Bible stories. He asked me to come because it is hard/difficult to bring all of the materials to the park by himself and usually he cannot bring the guitar because of the difficulty. So I went with him. Something that I had prayed for and wanted to do was serve and do ministry. Since I have been here for the past few days, God has given me ample opportunities! On the bus ride over to the park, Aaron told me that he had been praying for a kind-hearted, nice gringo to help in the ministry at Parque Magdalena. He taught me some Peruvian gestures and what they mean, like how to say “I stole it” or “I’m broke.” We went and played with the kids and it was a lot of fun. I couldn’t understand a thing they said because little kids slur their words, still it was fun. We played jump rope and we played with a parachute. We also played a fun game with a ball. Afterward we sang a fun little song about Jesus being King and then Aaron shared a little about the story of Jacob and Esau. Then the kids colored the pictures and we gave them drinks or “refrescos.” There were some other people who showed up to help: Rosa, another woman whose name I forgot, and David. Usually they don’t show up and Aaron has to do everything alone. There a lot of kids too! So he spoke to them and challenged them and asked if there hearts were really in the ministry. I couldn’t understand most of what they said. They were talking fast! I think that a lot of the kids tried to talk to me and I ended up ignoring them because I didn’t realize they were talking to me or I didn’t understand or know how to respond. I heard some of the Peruvian parents standing around saying, “He doesn’t understand anything we’re saying.” Well, I understood at least that much! Rosa, one of those who came to help was a very sweet lady. She was kind enough to talk with me slowly and help me understand what she was saying. We all prayed together at the end and packed up the materials. We walked together to the street to catch the bus back to campus. Rosa saw some ladies she knew who were Muslims. She had worked with them. I got really excited when I saw them. I am still not really sure what God will do with me concerning Muslim people… What is my calling God?

So far I am loving Peru! I cannot express how happy I am and how excited I am to be here. It has been incredible so far!

I left with Aaron for Parque Magdalena around 3:30 and we didn’t get back until 6:00. Immediately after we arrived and we put away the stuff, I had to leave to go to Enfoque or Koinonia, another service and time of fellowship at Calvary Chapel Lima (CC Lima). This service is bilingual. So we walked to Enfoque and they had a special guest speaker, Jeremy Swan. First, however, John, the pastor shared for a few minutes in Spanish about his trip to the US and about his vision for possibly getting a new building or a bigger space. Currently CC Lima rents a space and only has access on Sundays. Also the Bible College is growing and they need more space. So he was just sharing about the trip and asking the church to pray with him. Then we worshipped again in Spanish. It was a little more difficult because the projector wasn’t working like it was earlier at service and I didn’t know the lyrics of the songs in Spanish (though they were all popular English songs).The guest speaker, Jeremy, was a missionary from a poor jungle region of the Amazon near the borders of Colombia and Brazil. He shared about his ministry, what God was doing there, and certain prayer requests for the work and the people.

Jeremy then got into the word and shared about John 15:1-8. I have heard this passage taught many times and never have I heard it taught in this way. He brought out new things that I had never seen or realized, or rather, he taught the same things in a different way, he shed new light on the passage. He spoke a lot about agriculture and specifically caring for a vine or a vineyard and what it entails. It takes a lot of care, a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of skill. If you neglect it even a little bit, it will die or not bear fruit. You must tend to a vine/vineyard every moment of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year. God, our Father, is the Vinedresser. This shows just how much God loves us! How incredible! He tends to the Vine (Jesus) and the branches (us). In that passage Jesus talks about abiding in Him. That word abide… My Spanish-English parallel Bible gave me a new understanding of this. The word to abide in the Spanish translation is “permanecer” which makes me think of the English word permanent. We are to permanently stay connected to Jesus. PERMANENTLY. We are not to fluctuate and sometimes be connected and sometimes not. It is permanent. Jesus said that we cannot bear fruit unless we are connected to the Vine, unless we abide in Him.

Jeremy also spoke about and illustrated the process of grafting in branches to a vine; taking a branch from one vine and grafting it into a different vine. The process is delicate and difficult and it often fails because it requires a lot of attention. The vine must be cut, deeply gashed in order for the new branch to be put in and secured/tied to the vine. The branch also is usually shaped and formed a certain way to facilitate acceptance and growth. The point of grafting in a branch is to produce fruit. In the Bible it says that we as Gentiles (non-Jews) have been grafted in to Christ. In the same way as the vine is cut and gashed in the process, so Christ was crushed and bruised for our sins and for our healing, and just as the branches are formed and molded, so are we when we abide in Christ. The depth of the illustration that Christ used astounds me! We can  do nothing without Christ. Every effort we put forth apart from abiding in Him does not bear fruit. God revealed this anew to me and it ruined me. How much I have done apart from Christ! Even in the name of Christ. Show me Lord what it means to abide!

After Enfoque we returned to the Bible College and I prepared my school supplies for Monday. I organized my supplies and my thoughts and wrote out my schedule. There is a lot going on in the next few months!

Now it is Monday. I woke up at 6:00am (4:00am San Diego time). I went to breakfast at 7:30am. I ate and then went to my M199 (Practical Christian Ministry) at 7:45-8:45am. I help clean up breakfast and the kitchen. I went to morning devotions from 8:45-9:20am. We are learning Preaching 101 for a few weeks and then we will rotate as students giving the talk. Then I had my first class on Romans from 9:30-11:30am. I helped move a stove from an apartment to a house and then I went to lunch at 12:00pm. Then I went to the study room and began to write this entry. I just went to Men’s Discipleship from 3:00-4:00pm.

It takes me a lot of time to write out these entries and remember all that has happened. I don’t think that I will have time to do this anymore… I have a lot of homework! But I am very excited to do it! I love Bible College!

I am overjoyed in my Savior Jesus Christ. He is so good! I want to know Him more. I want to have total satisfaction in Him. He blesses His children exceedingly! Lord, all glory to You! Be glorified! High and lofty King! Shed Your grace on Peru! Have Your way in me and through me. Save many! May Your will be done. Amen.

I am in Peru! What a crazy experience so far! So much has happened! I am overwhelmed. There is so much to process!

I finished packing my luggage and weighed my bags to see if they met the regulations. One of my bags was 50 pounds exactly. The other bag was 70 pounds! That is twenty pounds overweight. I decided that I would have to pay the extra $55. I needed everything that I packed.

It was amazing to see God’s mercy and grace toward me. I ordered a lot of things online and I was waiting for them to arrive before I left for Peru. It was getting down to the last minute. I had ordered a new battery for my computer as well as a new power cord. The battery and cord that I had were shot. I had also ordered a hard case for my guitar. I only had a soft case and I was going to be taking my guitar to Peru. I didn’t want it to be broken. In addition I had ordered a new credit card because my current card was going to expire in September while I was in Peru. All of these items came at the same time Tuesday night. I packed Wednesday and left on my flight to Peru on Thursday.

However, God was also faithful in bringing in the books I ordered, my debit card, my paycheck, and my bilingual Bible. He provided for me to take Peanut Butter and Cumin to Peru for the campus through my sister as well as a new set of guitar strings and a pick holder. My sister and her husband Michael were both so incredible in helping me get here. They picked me up at 4:45am to go to LAX for my flight departure at 7:45am. I also got to spend a few hours with them at Camp Land in Mission Bay along with Michael’s amazing family before I left. It was a beautiful day with incredible weather and we enjoyed ourselves playing Frisbee and passing the time relaxing.

I was also exceedingly blessed to see my new baby nephew Ezra. My brother Jonathan and his girlfriend Melody visited southern California. They went to Yucaipa to spend some time with Melody’s grandparents and Hannah, Mike, and I got to see them as well. They are an adorable family! I am very happy to have Melody as part of our family and Ezra as well! He is so cute! It is cool to see my brother so happy and so in love with his new baby boy. I am excited to see what God will do with his life. I know that with God’s wisdom, direction, guidance, and help he will be a great father. I didn’t think that I was going to get to see my nephew before I left, so this was an incredible blessing! I took a lot of photos and enjoyed every moment (except for the incredible heat in Corona!)

God also blessed me greatly through my friends. Felicia and Soowon surprised me (well, kind of)! They made dinner and a cake and we had a picnic at the cliffs. There was a beautiful sunset! Afterward we returned to Soowon’s summer residence and played Jenga. Steven joined us. It was good to see Steven. At the end of the night they prayed for me before I left. The thought of praying together didn’t even enter my mind! How sad! But what an incredible blessing to have friends that are Christ-minded and love the Lord. I was so blessed. I felt very loved. I will miss you guys!

When I got home to the Panton’s (the place where I was staying for my summer internship) again God surprised me and blessed me beyond what I thought possible. They were both still up and I got to say goodbye. I found a letter in my suitcase saying goodbye with some traveling money inside. They are so generous and kind! God has blessed them with such gracious hearts! I love the Panton’s. They are so nice. They were so hospitable to me and God showed His incredible grace to me through them. Again, as I was about to go to bed after saying goodbye to the Panton’s, Rex asked if he could pray for me. I was so caught off guard. Again, I had not even thought to pray with him or Holly. What is wrong with me? Why don’t I want to talk to my heavenly Father anymore. I used to ask people to pray so much that I think they got annoyed! Give me that kind of heart again Lord! Our conversation and prayer that night brought a lot of closure and healing to my relationship with them. I had felt for so long that I was a burden and a horrible tenant. I still wish that I could have loved them and served them better, but I am so grateful for their love and generosity.

I went to bed for two hours and woke up at 2:15am to leave the Panton’s at 2:45am. I ended up not leaving until 3:00am, but it was alright, there isn’t really traffic at that time of the morning! On the drive to Fullerton from San Diego I spent time with the Lord in prayer. Mostly I prayed for my family. I had talked the night prior with my older brother Nathan and I got to hear about the incredible work that God is doing in his life. He now has a great hunger for the word and a passionate love for God. God is showing him many things in His word and Nate is excited! I can’t wait to see him in person so that we can sit down and glorify the Lord together, talking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I really want to sing songs of praise with Him and lift the name of the Lord God Almighty on high together. As I was praying for my family, I got a text from Soowon saying that she believed God told her to tell me not to worry about my family, but that He would take care of them. I thanked God for that word. I have no need to worry when our heavenly Father is watching over His word to perform it.

I met with Hannah and Mike at his parent’s house where they are graciously letting me keep my car for the next few months while I am gone (again, God’s incredible grace). On the way to the airport Hannah told me about all of the amazing things that God is doing in her and through her in the lives of her students and how He was opening doors and providing work and it was cool to hear about God’s grace in her life.

They dropped me off at the airport and the adventure began. I checked my luggage and paid my oversized bag fee and went through security. It was the quickest that I’ve ever gotten to the gate. I had some time to kill before they began boarding my flight and I knew that it would be the last chance that I would have to talk to my mom before I left so I gave her a call. I love you mom! I boarded the plane and I was on my way to San Salvador! On the flight I was seated next to two ladies from Honduras. They both spoke Spanish. I introduced myself and spoke to them for a little bit in Spanish. One of the ladies said, “Hello! I am going to be your traveling partner!” They were both very kind! They asked where I was going and why. I told them I was going to Peru to study at a Bible College. Then one of the ladies asked if I was Mormon. I was very confused! I told her that I was Christian. They replied that they were both Christians. Coincidence? I don’t think so! It was very cool… When we were landing in San Salvador, the woman next to me put up her hands and prayed over the entire plane and all the people on board for God’s protection and for a safe landing. The landing in San Salvador was pretty rough, but we did survive. Who knows! Perhaps it was only because she interceded.

I was presently surprised by the in-flight services. There was a free in-flight movie and they served a free meal! I watched the movie, an inspirational film with Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford about finding a treatment for Pompe disease. I read a little from the Bible as well. For a lot of the flight I just looked out the window in awe. It is always so cool to me to look out and see the tops of the clouds. There is a verse somewhere in the Bible (maybe Psalms) where it talks about God walking on the clouds. Pretty cool!

We arrived in San Salvador and now basically everything was in Spanish. And everyone talked so fast! I met up with a friend, David Gillot, who I met at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta. We had to wait for about an hour or more because our flight was a little delayed. It was cool to hear about his summer and the amazing ways in which God answered his prayers. I am always challenged by David’s testimonies because God is so clearly and evidently at work in his life. He can hear God so well and discern His voice and God is so straight and forward with him. Also, God does amazing and miraculous things in his life constantly. I am challenged when I look at my walk and ask why God is not as clear or evident. I believe that David has great child-like faith and he absolutely loves and trusts God. David and I happen to be rooming together this semester and I hope to learn from him and hopefully sharpen him in some way as well!

So we boarded the plane from San Salvador to Lima. I was in row eleven and David was a few rows ahead in row nine. I was sitting next to two Peruvian men who were traveling together. I was sitting in the aisle seat this time, so I couldn’t look out the window, which made me sad. But at this point I was very tired. The in-flight movie was not worth watching. It was “The Invention Of Lying” which makes a mockery of God saying that the idea of Him, and all that He is, is a lie. I tried to read but it was difficult. I ended up taking short naps. I didn’t talk to the men I sat next to at all. I didn’t really know how to, my Spanish has suffered significantly since I left high school. However, I probably could have tried. The real issue was that I was tired and somewhat unwilling to make the effort. They didn’t make the effort, so I didn’t. It wasn’t a good policy, I know. I hope that on my return flight I will have a different heart! And again I was challenged by seeing David. Just a few rows ahead of me, I could see him as he talked to the woman that he was sitting next to. Apparently she spoke English and he got to share his testimony with her and encourage her and challenge her. Of course, his testimony is quite amazing and I am sure that God will use it in that young woman’s life.

Again, I received a free meal. I thought that both meals were very good! When I arrived at the Bible College people asked what airline I flew with. When I told them TACA, they said, “Oh! Take A Chance Airlines?” So I guess they don’t have the best reputation. But I had a wonderful experience. They didn’t lose my baggage even though one of the pieces was overweight and flew on stand-by. They didn’t mishandle my luggage as far as I can tell. And my flights were on time. But I know that all of my fortune was not luck or chance, it was an answer to many prayers from my family and friends, as well as my personal prayers that God would protect my luggage and myself and get everything to Peru safely. So once more, God’s grace did abound to me exceedingly!

We got off the place in Lima and filled out our customs declaration papers and visas. Both David and I were a little confused about where we received our visa and did not realize until later that we forgot to ask for a 180 visa. So I will now have to pay a dollar for every day that I stay over the expiration of my visa. Luckily, that will only be about nine dollars! Again, God is gracious! I got through customs with no hassle. You have to give the officials your declaration papers and then go press a button. If you get a green light, then you are free to go and they don’t inspect your luggage. David got stopped for a little while (he had a lot of Peanut Butter in his bag). Again, God showed His grace to me.

After customs, we got to the area where people pick up their friends and relatives, etc. from the airport. There is a glass partition between where you first exit and everyone else is waiting to pick up the passengers. There was a huge crowd and everyone was holding signs. The Bible College told us to wait behind the glass partition until we saw the guys who were there to pick us up. David and I didn’t see them. We waited for a while and David thought that they might have forgotten about us. Luckily he had the number to the Bible College. By God’s grace, a lady from one of the taxi/travel companies let us use her phone. They had indeed forgotten about us and so we had to wait another forty minutes to and hour for them to come get us. Eventually they came and we met up with them. Another student had come with them because her airline had lost her luggage. She got her luggage that night, thankfully. After us there was only one more student to arrive, Nick. He is my other roommate. David and I  went with Dwayne Spearman, the director of the Bible College in Peru and the guy who I emailed and asked questions while in the states. Drivers in Peru are crazy! It was quite an experience. They really like to use their horns! There was only enough room in our car for mw to take one of my bags. The rest of my luggage went with Kevin who stayed behind with Amanda (the girl who was waiting for her luggage) to wait for Nick to arrive. We got to the Bible College and began to unpack. At this point it was around 10:00pm. The time in Peru is two hours later than pacific coast time.

It was interesting to learn a little bit about Lima. It is a huge city, about the size of New York and it has high crime rates. It is made up of several municipalities. The Bible College is in a municipality that is, for the most part, safe. All of the building and homes have high walls with barbed wire, electric fences, and broken glass at the top. They are like mini-fortresses! Also, in the area of the Bible College they have private security guards about every other block that sit in booths and keep watch to protect the neighborhood. The guards are paid by the various municipalities.

There is so much to share! I love the food here in Peru. It is amazing! Peruvians love salt, I love salt. It was meant to be! I also love the architecture of a lot of the buildings. I don’t know what it is about it, but I like it. It is just different than the US. The water is kind of like Mexico. The Bible College uses an ultraviolet light purifying system to provide potable water. Also, there is a water shortage in Lima so we have to take navy showers. Turn on the water to get wet, turn it off to put on soap, etc. then turn it back on to rinse it out. Something else interesting is that the pipes in Peru don’t support and cannot handle toilet paper so they wipe and then throw the toilet paper in a trash can beside the toilet. This is also kind of similar to Mexico.

I arrived late Thursday night and then we had orientation on Friday. In orientation we learned a lot of the rules. They are much more strict than the Murrieta campus. All students must be out of bed by 7:00am. The quiet hours are more strict and so is curfew. All of the rules however are to keep us safe and facilitate studying and growth in our relationship with the Lord. They totally and absolutely do not allow romantic relationships. If they even see one start to develop, they will talk to you. There is no flirting. It is very strict, but also very pure. I like it. They definitely don’t want you distracted from the Lord. They said straight out, “If you came here to meet your wife, leave. You shouldn’t be here.”

After orientation we had lunch together. Before every meal we pray together as a college and then we let the women eat first. I love it! I love the unity and I love the chivalry! Juanita is the cook and she is a sweet lady. I am looking forward to working with her this semester and speaking with her. After lunch I went with a few other students to a time of worship at the English-speaking church in Lima. I didn’t know that it was youth led until I arrived. It was a surprise, but it was good. We had to walk a ways and then take a bus. The buses in Peru are crazy! They hardly stop. They will drive off while you are still getting on. Plus, they will stop whenever and wherever you want them to. It only costs a sol to ride which is about 30 cents in US currency.

The worship meeting called “Friday Night Live” was great. The kids were awesome. They seemed to be passionately in love with God, though it was hard to tell. It was weird for me to see 12-16 year olds raising their hands in worship, I haven’t really seen it at home in Colorado or at La Jolla Presbyterian. It was kind of cool. The youth pastor gave a short message in between the worship sets. He spoke in the passage in James where it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to You, resist the devil and he will flee from you, cleanse your hands you sinners and mourn.” This passage has had special significance in my walk with the Lord. It was especially prominent in my first year at UCSD. It seems that the Lord might bring it up again. I was very challenged by the message. I was challenged in the same way that I am challenged when I look at David’s life and testimonies of God. It has to do with intimacy, with hearing from God. The theme of this semester at CCBC Peru is “Holiness.” This is particularly significant to me at this moment in my walk…

I know that God has some incredible things in store for this semester. I really want to change. I want transformation. I want to be a completely different man when I leave, looking more like Christ. I want to grow in His grace and in a personal and intimate relationship with Him. I want to hear His voice and respond and talk with Him. Oh Lord!

I love Spanish. I love the language so much! I really hope that I can learn to speak well, if not fluently, during my time here. I bought a Spanish-English parallel Bible and I love it!

Today we went to the Palacio Del Gobierno (The Governor’s Palace). I took a ton of photos. It was a little ridiculous. But it was a very pretty building. And we got to see the changing of the guard. Then we ate lunch at a great Peruvian restaurant.

God, my God… Thank You. Thank You for all that You have done and all that You are doing. Lead me in Your way and in Your truth. Show me what to do with every moment of every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why do we make a mockery of Your name?

Why do we esteem You lightly?

Where is our reverence?

As soon as I did, I was presented with another option (that was a little less than half way through the summer).  I was doing an internship at La Jolla Presbyterian Church this summer. My supervisor, Eileen, had heard my story of the past two years in my application as well as bits here and there when we would have lunch. Well, Eileen doesn’t keep confidentiality very well, so she told her supervisor, the pastor of the church. She set up a lunch date for me with him (his name is Paul). So I had lunch with Paul. As we talked he listened to my story and gave me the option to go to Belize. He is on the board of an organization that works with the people of Belize. They are building a church, a school, and houses. They also work with an orphanage down there. It seems like a great ministry. Thus began my struggle with God’s will for my life. They both seemed like such great opportunities! But which one was the right one? Which one was God’s will for me? As soon as I was given the option of Belize, I began to pray. For the rest of the summer I had no idea what I was going to do. I kept praying for God to open and close doors, but both doors seemed to be wide open. It came down to just three days before Bible College was supposed to begin. I still didn’t have all the money I needed to go to Bible College, but I also didn’t have all of the information about Belize.

Then God provided a way to pay for Bible College… maybe. There was an opportunity for a scholarship from the church that I interned at. So I filled out the application. Strangely enough, the opportunity to go to Belize was presented by that same church. The process of discernment to figure out what I was doing was really difficult and crazy. I asked many people what they thought I should do. Interestingly, most of the younger people said to go to Belize. Most of the older people said to go to Bible College. In 2 Chronicles, King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon, ascends to the throne after Solomon’s death. The people come to him and ask him to lighten the grip that his father had on them. Rehoboam says he’ll think about it and give them an answer later. He consults the elders and his father’s advisers, they tell him to lighten his grip. Then he consult his friends, they tell him to strike with an even harder grip than his father. To his ruin he listens to his friends. I thought that was very interesting.

Anyway, it is three days before Bible College starts. At this point neither door is really closed, so I have to choose. Because the information about Belize was still not available and wouldn’t be until after Bible College had already begun, I decided to go to Bible College, even though I still didn’t have the necessary funds. I felt like that was what God was pointing me to. I arrived at Bible College with no money. I had a check on its way from the Foundation for College Christian Leaders that I had been awarded earlier in the summer, but that was only enough for room and board and they require the semester tuition in full at the beginning of the semester. They let me stay for the first week trusting my word that funds were coming. I soon learned that the church had decided to fund my tuition for the year (praise God!) Eventually the check from the foundation came in and everything was settled.

Looking back, I realize a few things. I got the call or burden to go to Bible College back in December during winter break. I had gone through a lot to apply. Would God have put that on my heart if He didn’t intend to carry it through? I don’t know. There have been times that I thought I was going one place and I wound up somewhere completely different. However, many times when God puts something on your heart, and you commit to it, immediately something seemingly just as good, if not better pops up. Going to Belize would have been amazing! It is a great thing they are doing there. I don’t know if it would have been wrong to go. But I know this, the option distracted me and led me away from what God had purposed. Since I have been at Bible College, God has confirmed my decision to go several times. I feel like I am exactly where I need to be for this season of my life and I do not doubt that if God wants me to go to Belize some day, He’ll make a way.

I could write just as much about my experiences at Bible College thus far. I’ve only been in class for two weeks, but I have learned sooooo much! But that will have to wait for another time.

It’s been  a little while since I have posted anything. But here I am. Man, it’s been a wild journey these past couple weeks. So much has happened! In three weeks I finished my internship with La Jolla Presbyterian Church, met a possessed man named Joshua who God delivered, decided between going to Belize and Bible College, moved to a new city, and started school.

I  have only been in school here at Calvary Chapel Bible College for about two weeks and I have learned so much that I am completely overwhelmed. There is so much to take in. Everyday I learn something new about God and His word. Everyday God strongly convicts me by His Spirit concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. I am a faithless man, horrible and wretched. But God remains faithful and just and true.  He is so loving and merciful. “Who is like our God, who is enthroned on high…?”

I cannot adequately explain the turmoil inside me. So much is new, and yet, so much is old. With every new experience and every new revelation, God brings to the foreground old experiences. Just like the disciples in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is taking me back through my walk with Him, because apparently, I didn’t get the point. Jesus is God; His grace saves; it is sufficient; justification is by faith alone and not by works.

I am a very critical person. And the one that I am most critical of is myself. I always beat myself up when I make a mistake; I condemn myself and it usually leads me to a struggle to believe that God loves me. Now, God is bringing me back to the foundations of my relationship with Him: His grace and His love. I have been doing a lot of study in the book of Genesis. In Genesis, everything has its beginning; the fall of man and the beginning of God’s redemptive story. In my studies so far, God has spoken many things, but one thing that stood out pretty clearly, was this: “Return to your First Love.”

I am trying Jesus…

“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

- Luke 7:47

I’ve been forgiven much; I love little…

I grapple often with the concept of grace. The love that God has for us is far too pure and good. I am completely undeserving and yet, His grace is abundant. Why? Of course, I always end up losing in the battle against grace, because there is no other way that I could come to God. If grace did not exist I would be a cursed man. But, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree’ –” (Galatians 3:13).

Grace always wins.